Xeriscaping is a very popular option for landscaping in Colorado, as its main objective is to focus on plants native to Colorado’s semi-arid climate. These plants require very little water or maintenance and can withstand our region’s droughts and harsh sun, while still adding color and natural beauty to homes and commercial spaces. There are myriad resources for Xeriscaping available, including through Denver Water’s website (denverwater.org), the organization that coined the term “Xeriscape” back in 1981, by combing the word “landscape” with the Greek word “xeros,” which means “dry.”

This water-efficient focus in landscaping is one that is easy to master with a bit of education on which plants thrive in our climate zone. As opposed to plants such as roses that require daily care, water, and frequent pruning, xeriscape plants are hardy and they can handle severe weather and sunlight. The  approach focuses on seven key principles and these are outlined in detail at denverwater.org:

1. Planning and Design

2. Soil Improvements

3. Efficient Irrigation

4. Plant Zones

5. Mulches

6. Turf Alternatives

7. Maintenance

Additionally, Outdoor Design Group has recently compiled a selection of their “Top 20 Xeriscape Plants.” These are ones they have found to thrive especially well along the Front Range of Colorado*:

• Fernbush –

  Chamaebatiaria millefolium    Fernbush is a medium sized shrub with interesting fern-like leaves that persist throughout the winter.  This shrub requires little water or maintenance, and produces clusters of small white flowers in the late spring through early summer.

• Agastache –

  Agastache ssp.    Agastache, or hummingbird mint, is a fragrant group of colorful perennial herbs that is available in many colors mostly ranging from orange to pink.  The plants are covered with beautiful tubular flowers from mid-summer to fall.  Hummingbirds absolutely love these plants.

• Panchito Manzanita –

  Arctostaphylos x coloradoensis ‘Panchito’    Panchito Manzanita is a low growing woody shrub with shiny, oval, dark green leaves that persist throughout the winter.  It gets small, pale pink flowers followed by small red berries- but its best characteristics are the evergreen foliage and the fact that it requires little care or water.  For more info read my previous post dedicated to this plant.

• Yarrow –

  Achillea ssp.    Yarrow is a group of Rocky Mountain native perennials that are available in many colors, ranging from yellow, to white, to red.  The plants are very drought tolerant, requiring almost no watering once established.  Fern-like, finely dissected leaves form clumps at the base of the plant, often naturalizing and spreading.  Flowers are produced on stiff, tall stalks throughout the summer.

• Spanish Gold Broom –

  Cytisus purgans ‘Spanish Gold’    Spanish Gold Broom is a medium sized deciduous shrub that is native to the Mediterranean.  In late spring it is covered with small yellow pea-like blossoms.  This shrub grows in a mounding, cascading form of bright green stems that remain green throughout the winter.  The small leaves drop by mid-summer.

• Catmint –

  Nepeta ssp.    Catmint is a widely used mint that produces an abundance of blue flowers.  It is one of the earlier Xeriscape perennials to emerge in the spring to form an attractive clump of blue-green foliage, and second, that it flowers all summer long and requires zero maintenance.

• Iceplant –

  Delosperma ssp.    The Iceplant that we use in Colorado is a perennial that is native to the higher elevations of South Africa.  Note that this is not the invasive Iceplant that is a problem in Southern California.  Delospermas form a ground-hugging mat of succulent leaves that range from grey to green.  The plants are coated with shiny, delicate flowers in colors from red, to purple, to pink, often with different colored centers.

• Blue Avena Grass –

  Helictotrichon sempervirens    Blue Avena Grass is a striking addition to any landscape.  Large clumps of blue-gray leaves give this grass a unique texture and contrast among other plants.  In mid-summer a large group of tan seedheads gracefully arch from the plant and stand out from the blue foliage.  Like most grasses, Blue Avena requires little maintenance or supplemental watering.

• Penstemon –

  Penstemon ssp.    Penstemon is another group of Rocky Mountain native perennials that requires little watering once established, preferring well drained soils. Penstemons are available in just about every color.  These plants are small in size which makes them ideal for filling in between other Xeriscape plants.  They provide an abundance of colorful blooms that attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

• Mojave Sage –

  Salvia pachyphylla    Mojave Sage is a large shrubby perennial that produces an abundance of striking purplish-blue flowers throughout the summer.  The silver-green foliage really stands out too, growing up to three feet tall, and persisting as a semi-evergreen throughout the winter.

• Prairie Winecups

  – Callirhoe involucrata    Prairie Winecups is a Colorado native perennial that grows in a low mound of trailing stems covered in round dark-green leaves.  The plant produces a large number of cup shaped wine-red colored flowers from late spring through summer.  Because this is a native plant it is well adapted to our local climate and requires little maintenance.

• Mexican Feather Grass –

  Nassella tenuissima    Mexican Feather Grass has a fine, hair-like form that gives this grass a texture like none other.  Early in the summer the fine tufts of grass are bright green, then they fade to a striking golden yellow in the mid-summer through the fall and winter.  The way that this grass moves in the breeze brings a graceful movement to the landscape.

• Torch Lilly –

  Kniphofia ssp.    Torch Lillies are interesting because of their unique foliage and flowers.  The foliage is grass-like, and grows in thick clumps ranging in color from blue-green to dark green.  The flowers are produced in a tight bunch on tall spikes, and the flowers open from the bottom of the spike upwards.

• Crimson Pygmy Barberry –

  Berberis thunbergii ‘Crimson Pygmy’    Crimson Pygmy Barberry is a compact deciduous shrub with small red leaves and stems.  The red color makes an excellent contrast with the tan and blue hues of the late summer Xeriscape.  This shrub is easy to care for, and maintains a very compact and dense form.

• Agave –

  Agave ssp.    Agave is native to the Southwestern United States and Mexico, and it thrives in hot, dry locations.  Most of the Agave’s have beautiful thick blue foliagewith spines on the tips of the leaves.  A very low maintenance plant for dry southern and western exposures.

• Prairie Coneflower –

  Ratibida ssp.    Prairie Coneflower is a tall, vigorously growing perennial that requires little maintenance and produces flowers throughout the summer.  The foliage is bright green, and available flower colors include yellow with dark brown centers, and burgundy red with dark brown centers.  The seeds are easy to harvest and sow the following spring.

• Creeping Western Sand Cherry –

  Prunus besseyi ‘Pawnee Buttes’    Creeping Western Sand Cherry is the low growing form of Western Sand Cherry that is native to the Rocky Mountains.  The plant has bright green leaves, and produces fragrant white flowers in the spring, followed by small black fruit that attract birds and wildlife.  In the fall, the leaves turn to beautiful shades of burgundy and red.

• Coral Bells –

  Heuchera ssp.    Coral Bells are a widely used favorite because they are easy to grow and care for. The large leaves are available in a variety of hues from light green, to burgundy, to silvery green. Coral Bells does very well in shade to partial sun.  Available flower colors range from white to red, and are produced on slender stalks in late spring to early summer.

• Yucca –

  Yucca ssp.    Yuccas are native to the Southwestern United States and Mexico.  There are many different varieties to choose from with various forms of stiff sword-like leaves ranging from dark green to blue-green.  Yuccas are a true evergreen that brings form and structure to the landscape year-round.  Most Yuccas produce large showy spikes of white bell shaped flowers in mid-summer.

• Apache Plume –

  Fallugia paradoxa    Apache Plume is large native deciduous shrub with whitish stems and branches covered with small light green leaves.  Some of the leaves persist throughout the winter.  The shrub produces single white flowers in mid-summer, followed by the very unique and attractive rose and pink colored plumes that give this plant its name.  A very unique and versatile shrub that grows vigorously in its native habitat of Colorado.

Water is a scarce resource in Colorado and the xeriscape approach and plan will allow you to save on your water bill, cut down on yard maintenance, and offer you peace of mind as our weather patterns continue to shift unpredictably. These plants can survive even through the wildest of Colorado weather.

*List adapted from Outdoor Design Group, 2018.

Dawn Duncan is the founder and President of Yellowbright, Inc., a Fort Collins-based marketing, social media, and promotions firm. 970.980.6399   yellowbrightinc.com