Backyard Ideas: 5 Easy Tips for Creating a Beautiful Drought-Resistant Back Yard

Earlier this year California made permanent the water restrictions that had been in place throughout the drought. While many people re-landscaped their front yards during the dry years, many more let their back yard lawns wither away, or removed them completely. But efficient, non-wasteful irrigation doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a beautiful back yard retreat.

Xeriscaping, or water-wise, climate appropriate gardening, can allow you to have all the color, blooms, and lushness you desire while significantly reducing water use and maintenance. Try one or more of these 5 backyard ideas that are ideal for the dry summers and wet winter Mediterranean climate of Sonoma County.

Low-maintenance backyard ideas

Landscaping your back yard with waterwise techniques is not only environmentally friendly, it can be downright gorgeous. Here’s how.

Native plants

Always a good choice for xeriscape principles, climate-appropriate plantings are those that are suited to your local water availability. Here in Sonoma, good native choices include

• Perennials like lavender, rosemary, Santa Barbara daisy, Mexican sage, verbena, catmint, and dusty miller.
• Annuals and bulbs that are well-adapted to drought-tolerant gardens. Think daffodils, irises, California poppies, larkspur, and alyssum.
• Vines that include climbers like wisteria, honeysuckle, grape, and potato vine.
• Drought-tolerant grasses such as fountain, blue oat, blue fescue, sedge, and deer grass.
• Aloe, agave, echeverias, and sedums are good succulent choices that cover a wide spectrum of the green palette.

Groundcovers

Groundcovers are a great replacement for lawns, help to prevent soil erosion, and add a lovely splash of color. Is your Sonoma back yard mostly sunny? Rockrose is a hardy choice that requires almost no care. More shade than sun? Try creeping barberry. It’s bright yellow flowers in mid spring and blue berries in early summer make this a real show-stopper.

Don’t forget the mulch. It helps to moderate soil temperature, curtail evaporative water loss, and keep the weeds out of sight. The most common mulches are chipped or shredded bark, but gravel and stone can also be used.

Hardscape

There’s nothing more low-maintenance than hardscape. Paved areas, retaining walls, and stone and brick pathways create a clean minimalist look that can be enhanced and added to depending on what style back yard you prefer. Try a walkway of pea gravel with stepping stones that leads from the deck to the garden. A stone patio or composite deck are ideal for backyard barbecues.

Decorative stone

Use a mix of different gravels throughout the backyard landscape for more visual appeal. Decorative stone like river rock comes in many different sizes, shapes, and colors. Together with decomposed granite, it’s a great choice for surrounding a water feature or filling a raised or flat bed.

Create multiple outdoor living spaces

A nice balance of plantings and outdoor living areas lets you extend your home’s footprint while having less grassy areas to maintain. Even less expansive back yards can have several smaller areas that offer lots of options for entertaining. One area can feature the grill, another the bar setup, and another can hold seating and dining options.

Just keep in mind that regular maintenance isn’t eliminated by xeriscaping. Fertilizing, pruning, and occasional weeding are all still required. Irrigation systems should be tested and adjusted according to the season. And pest management is a core practice of xeriscape ideology.

Learn More

If you’d rather spend less time taking care of your back yard and more time relaxing in it, or just want some more terrific backyard ideas for your own home, contact us today. We’d love to show you all the ways a water-smart backyard can be a beautiful one, too.

Tagged: garden design, landscape design, lawn and garden