Xeriscape Design Plans in Denver
Plans built around your actual soil, sun, slope, and water budget — not a catalog template dropped onto your lot.
- Site assessment first — soil texture, drainage, sun exposure, grade, and what's already worth keeping
- Plant palettes chosen for USDA zone 6a and Front Range genotypes, not generic 'drought-tolerant' lists
- Hydrozoning, so the plants that need water are grouped where water can legally go
- Phaseable plans — build it in stages if the budget calls for it, without redoing work
- $500 design fee, credited toward installation on projects over $5,000
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What’s included
On-site assessment: soil, sun, slope, drainage, existing irrigation, and the plants worth saving.
A scaled plan showing beds, hardscape, circulation, and planting locations.
A named plant palette with quantities and sizes — not 'assorted perennials.'
Hydrozone map so irrigation matches plant need instead of running one schedule everywhere.
Material specifications: mulch, stone, edging, and hardscape surfaces.
A phasing plan and a real budget range for each phase.
Our design fee is $500, and we credit it toward installation when Xeris builds a project over $5,000. A plan is worth paying for even if you build it yourself — the mistakes it prevents cost more than the drawing.
Design is where the money is saved
Most of what makes a Front Range landscape fail is decided before anything is planted.
Plants get chosen from a nursery bench in May rather than for the soil they're going into. Beds get shaped around what the sod cutter happened to reach. One irrigation schedule runs the whole yard, so the thirsty plants and the xeric plants fight each other. Grade sends water toward the house instead of away from it. Trees go in at a spacing that looks right at three feet and is wrong at twenty.
None of those are planting problems. They're design problems, and they cost a fraction to solve on paper.
What we actually look at
Soil. Most of the Denver metro is clay, but "clay" covers a wide range of drainage behavior, and it changes across a single lot. Native plants generally want lean, well-draining ground — amending a whole yard with rich compost is a common and expensive mistake.
Sun and exposure. A south-facing slope at 5,280 feet is a different climate from the north side of the same house. Wind exposure matters as much as sun, especially for anything evergreen going into a dry winter.
Grade and drainage. Where does water go in a hard August storm? The answer determines bed placement, whether you need a dry creek or a swale, and whether your foundation stays dry.
Hydrozoning. Plants get grouped by water need so irrigation can actually match them. This is the single highest-leverage thing in a xeriscape plan, and it's the one most often skipped. It also matters legally now: under Denver Water's restrictions, drip irrigation to trees, shrubs, and perennials stays permitted when spray irrigation on turf does not.
What's already there. Mature trees are worth designing around, not through. We'll tell you what's worth keeping before anything comes out.
From plan to built
The plan is a buildable document, not a mood board. It carries bed layout, circulation, hardscape surfaces and dimensions, a named plant palette with sizes and quantities, material specs, and a hydrozone map.
If Xeris builds it — see xeriscape installation — we credit the $500 design fee toward any install over $5,000 and the plan becomes the scope of work. If you build it yourself or hire someone else, you own the drawing and the plant list outright.
Many yards get built in phases — front yard this fall, back yard next spring, patio the year after. Phasing is a budget tool, and it only works if the plan anticipates it. Designing the whole property up front is what keeps phase two from tearing out phase one.
Common questions
- Do I really need a design, or can you just plant things?
- For a small bed, we can plant it. For a whole yard, a plan pays for itself. The expensive mistakes in Front Range landscaping are structural — wrong grade, wrong hydrozoning, plants sized for a nursery pot instead of maturity, hardscape in the wrong place. Those cost thousands to undo and almost nothing to avoid on paper.
- What does 'xeriscape-first' actually mean?
- It means we start from your water budget and design toward it, instead of designing a conventional landscape and then trying to make it drink less. In practice that changes plant selection, bed shapes, soil prep, irrigation type, and where any turf ends up — the seven xeriscape principles applied as a design method, not a label.
- Can I build it myself from your plan?
- Yes, and some clients do. You get the drawing, the plant list with sizes and quantities, and the material specs. We'll tell you honestly which parts are DIY-friendly and which ones — grade changes, irrigation conversion, large stone — are worth hiring out.
- How long does the design process take?
- Typically two to four weeks from site visit to plan, depending on scope and season. Winter is the fastest turnaround and the smartest time to design, because it puts you at the front of the spring build queue instead of the back.
- Will the design qualify for turf-replacement rebates?
- We design to the rebate requirements when a rebate is in play. Most programs specify a minimum share of living plant coverage and exclude bare gravel or synthetic turf from counting. Knowing that before the plan is drawn is much easier than retrofitting it after.
Read more
Xeriscape design in Denver
The full xeriscape design process in Denver — site assessment, hydrozoning, cold-hardy plant selection, drip irrigation design, and what it costs.
Landscape design: how we approach it
What landscape design in Denver includes, what a design costs ($500, credited on installs over $5,000), what you get, and how to choose a designer.
Intro to xeriscaping in Denver
What xeriscaping is, why it fits Denver's climate and 2026 water rules, the seven principles, plants that thrive here, what it costs, and how to get started.
Xeriscaping mistakes to avoid
Avoid costly mistakes in your Denver xeriscape project. Learn the top 7 xeriscaping errors and how to design a thriving, low-water landscape that looks great.
What a yard makeover costs
What landscaping costs in Denver: front yard and backyard makeover prices per square foot, what pushes the number up or down, and how long it takes.
Front yard landscaping ideas
Front yard landscaping in Denver: design approaches that work here, HOA rules, the install process and timeline, and what a front yard costs.
Where we work
We’re Denver-based and work across the metro. Water rules and rebates depend on your provider — each city page covers yours.
Ready to get a number?
We design and build water-wise landscapes across the Denver metro. Free walkthrough, honest scope, no pressure.