Tips for Upgrading a Landscape

If you're planning to remove your grass and upgrade to a water-smart landscape, use these tips to prepare.

Develop a master plan

Put your ideas on paper. Draw up a landscape plan that outlines where you want to put plants and where you may need grass, if you need it at all. Also decide upon a budget.

Read a book, take a class

Call (702) 258-SAVE for a free copy of our Simply Beautiful book and CD-ROM. This step-by-step guide will show you how to do it yourself. You also can sign up for free gardening classes at the Gardens at the Springs Preserve.

Upgrade with a friend

Check with your neighbors to see if they're interested in upgrading their landscapes. Most suppliers offer better prices on larger quantities of material.

Grade and prepare surfaces

Properly remove all grassy areas, and grade for proper drainage and the addition of rock mulch.

Use existing irrigation

If you are converting an existing lawn, check to see if the sprinkler system's existing pipes can be converted to a drip system. Special products are available that attach like sprinkler heads and contain a filter and pressure regulator. Check the valves to ensure they will open and close consistently at the lower flow rates. If you're not sure, talk to your local nursery or parts specialist for free advice.

Buy starter plants

Choose plants in one-gallon containers instead of five-gallon containers—they cost less and will "catch up" to those more mature plants in a season or two. Buy plants in the fall and winter, when business is slower and prices are lower.

Start your own plants for free

Some plants are easily propagated from seeds and cuttings from established plants.

Mulch...Mulch...Mulch

Select rock that is hard by nature. Granite, for example, will not deteriorate and need to be replaced as quickly as a softer rock such as sandstone. Instead of buying mulch, look for free wood chippings available through some tree-trimming companies. Another budget-stretching option: plant fast-growing ground covers such as lantana or myoporum that can serve as a living mulch.

Want a payback?

SNWA's Water Smart Landscapes rebate program offers homeowners and commercial properties a rebate of $1.50 per square foot of grass converted to xeriscape with no cap on maximum square footage. Learn more about the rebate.