Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Hacks & How-to's

What is xeriscaping and would it work for me?

Kim Renta
By

Imagine landscaping purposely designed to thrive on little to no water, that’s beautiful to look at, easy to maintain, and so much more affordable than your typical grassy landscape. It’s called xeriscaping, and it could be exactly the right type of landscaping for you.

While obviously practical in acrid areas where rainfall amounts are minimal, having this unique type of garden has benefits that make it desirable and attractive, no matter which part of the country you live in. Read on for affordable xeriscaping options and ideas that will beautify your property without the maintenance or high cost.

A A xeriscape garden in bloom
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Xeriscaping is a funny word, but it can be very beneficial to your yard — and your household budget — here’s why! The word xeriscaping is derived from “xeros,” which is the Greek word for “dry” and, when done properly, can actually help reduce water usage for landscaping on your property by 50% to 75%, which can have a huge impact on your water bill!

Related

But, reducing water consumption is only one of the benefits of xeriscaping. Here are a few others:

  • It reduces the size of water-hungry lawns.
  • It employs the use of compost to improve the soil while reducing the amount of compostable refuge that ends up in your trash.
  • It focuses on plants native to your growing region, which will thrive naturally without significant help from you.
  • It eliminates the need for sprinklers and relies instead on soaker hoses or drip irrigation.
  • It saves you time spent on mowing, fertilizing, and watering lawns.
Recommended Videos

Tips for doing xeriscaping right … and affordably!

There are ways to keep costs down when implementing your xeriscape plan. Here are some ideas for inexpensive drought-tolerant landscaping:

  • Hardscapes are the hard landscape materials used in place of vegetation — pathways, walls, rock gardens, etc. To minimize costs, keep purchased hardscape to a minimum and instead use rocks and boulders found in nature, or create pathways made from gathered stones or shells.
  • Hiring a landscaper can be costly; try doing as much of the work yourself as possible. Plus, imagine the satisfaction of seeing your xeriscape vision come to life while staying on budget!
  • Make your own mulch, it’s easier than you think! Make piles of leaves, grass clippings, even twigs from the yard and turn your trusty lawnmower into a shredding, mulch-making machine. Run them over several times with the mower until mulch is at a desired consistency.
  • Select spreading plants that will continue to expand and grow as the years go on. Be careful to use native, noninvasive plants. Not sure what to use? Speak with the professionals at your neighborhood nursery or garden center.

What are the best xeriscape plants for you?

A front yard with xeriscape landscaping
Simone Hogan/Shutterstock

It’s not really a “one answer fits all” scenario. Which plants you should include depends primarily on which growing region of the country you live in. Xeriscape plants that work well in California may not work in New York at all. To ensure the success of your xeriscape landscape, you’ll want to first confirm your growing zone before making plant selections.

The USDA has developed a Hardiness Zone Map that divides North America into 11 different planting zones, with each zone being 10 degrees warmer (or colder) in an average winter than the one next to it. You can find your growing zone by speaking with a local landscape expert or online.

You’ll want a mixture of different plant types and colors, various heights, and blooming seasons, but all well-designed xeriscape gardens have plantings with similar water needs.

Here are some of our favorite xeriscape plants (always check your growing zone before selecting any plants):

  • Bougainvillea
  • Juniper
  • Purple coneflower
  • Feather reed grass
  • Lavender
  • Salvia
  • Catmint
  • Fernbush
  • Verbena
  • Various succulents

After you decide on plantings, mix up your design with natural rocks and pathways made from hand-gathered stones or shells. Once complete, the best part about xeriscape gardens is that you’ll spend more time enjoying it and less time maintaining it.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Kim Renta
Kim Renta
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kim has written for Bloomingdales, Movado, and various e-commerce wine sites. When she's not writing about wine and…
We found the absolute best places to buy affordable midcentury modern furniture
Here's where to get midcentury modern furniture on the cheap
Interior of a house. Mustard yellow velvet loveseat. Living room with midcentury modern furniture. Concrete floor. Vintage carpet. Eclectic living room.

Furnishing a home or apartment can get uber expensive, especially when you’re all about creating a stylish, cohesive look in your place. So where can you buy midcentury modern furniture cheap, which is in fashion right now and shows no signs of going out of style?

Inexpensive midcentury modern furniture can be hard to come by in a typical, big-box furniture retail store. This style will only be a small part of a vast collection, and normally at a high cost. But there are many other ways to find the chic pieces you’re looking for. Lo and behold, we present our guide to buying affordable midcentury modern furniture.

Read more
5 home pieces you should always buy at thrift stores (and 6 you shouldn’t)
Pick up these home decor items the next time you're at the thrift store
Multiple antique mirrors on gallery wall

Somewhere along the turbulent line of the last decade or so, thrift store shopping became cool again, and we are all for it. More and more people are rebelling against generic, cookie-cutter styles and wanting their homes to look more personalized, more unique, and more one-of-a-kind. At long last, your living room looking exactly like the Pottery Barn catalog doesn't necessarily make yours the epitome of style. Individualism is the more sought-after decor style now, and we couldn't love it more.
When shopping secondhand, be it at a thrift store, online auction, or garage sale, there are some general guidelines to keep in mind, and that's where we come in. By remembering these helpful tips, you can take advantage of the perks and avoid the pitfalls of secondhand shopping.

Do: Wooden furniture
This one can be a bit intimidating. We aren't all antique experts and historians with part-time jobs hosting Antiques Roadshow. But for the most part, it isn't hard to distinguish a nicer-quality piece of furniture from an assemble-it-yourself, particleboard piece of junk. Test for sturdiness by giving it a few wobble tests. Check to see how easy it is to open and close the drawers.

Read more
3 things to know about homemade laundry detergent so you don’t ruin your clothes
Consider these factors before using homemade laundry detergent on your clothes
Close-up of a woman holding a wicker laundry basket with white clothes

A full closet of freshly cleaned clothes is delightful. A bed neatly made with crisp, just-washed sheets is divine. Is there anything quite like freshly clean laundry? You may purchase your go-to laundry detergent from the store every so often, but maybe you're wondering about homemade laundry detergent.

There's a lot of talk out there about the health, environmental, and savings benefits of making DIY laundry soap, but is it really safe and effective? Let's dive into what you need to consider before making your own laundry soap - and what you need to make it the right way.

Read more