- 1). The basic concept of Xeriscaping is to break your yard up into three zone or areas: arid areas (no added water), transition areas (minimum watering) and oasis areas (applied water). You then place plants with similar water needs into the designated areas.
- 2). Create your arid areas farthest from your house. These areas are usually left in their natural state (or allowed to return to that state) and have native plants growing in them.
- 3). Develop transition areas closer to your house and use plants that need only a little supplemental watering to survive.
- 4). Build your oasis zones closest to your house where you can best take advantage of rain water coming off your roof and out of your down spouts.
- 5). Remember, in a xeriscaped yard, you can still have some grass; the difference is your yard isn't totally covered with grass. Try to choose the grass types you plant based on the amount of water they require and how your family will use your yard. For example, Kentucky bluegrass is extremely tolerant to foot traffic (where kids and pets play), but it does require a lot of water
- 6). Plant indigenous plants or ground cover on slopes to help hold soil in place and minimize the amount of water that runs off.
- 7). Consider that an added advantage of a xeriscaped yard is that it requires much less work than a regular yard. Besides not needing to do as much watering, you will have a lot less grass to cut. Another benefit is you will use fewer pesticides and less fertilizer (meaning less work for you and fewer chemicals going into the water supply).
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