In our high plains desert environment, traditional lawns require ample water and maintenance. Xeriscaping refers to landscaping that utilizes drought-resistant plants and rocks to reduce water usage. Xeriscaping principles can help us thoughtfully plan fire resilient landscaping, enhance wildlife habitat around our home, and lower our water bills. Xeriscaping is often conflated with Zeroscaping, where gravel is used to cover the entire area, but this solution may not be as simple as it sounds. 

Gravel can compact soil beneath it, reducing infiltration of stormwater. Even with landscaping fabric beneath, invasive species often grow in the debris that lands between rocks. Rocks often heat up far more than a lawn or other garden. This creates a bit of an ecological dead zone, mainly beneficial to less desirable species. Rocks and gravel are wonderful tools to incorporate into portions of your xeriscaped yard, but the seven principles of xeriscaping offer us other tools as well. 

From Ted Smith at UW Extension:

1. Planning and Design: A well-thought-out map of your property that accounts for sun exposure, soil type, and the way you use your yard.
2. Soil Improvement: Adding compost or organic matter to help the soil retain moisture and encourage deep root growth.
3. Practical Turf Areas: Limiting traditional high-water grass to functional spaces where it is needed, rather than using it as a default ground cover.
4. Efficient Irrigation: Using targeted watering systems like drip lines instead of evaporation-heavy sprayers and ensuring water goes exactly where it is needed.
5. Mulching: Covering exposed soil with organic mulch or rock to suppress weeds, keep root temperatures cool, and lock in moisture.
6. Plant Selection: Choosing native or deeply adapted plants suited to your local climate and rainfall.
7. Appropriate Maintenance: Weeding, adjusting irrigation as plants grow, and pruning to keep the landscape healthy and tidy.

These principles are also helpful for planning a fire resilient landscape. Dense plantings right up against your home, ladder fuels, and dead vegetation increase your home's risk in the case of wildfires. Consider replacing flammable plant materials such as junipers and other evergreens with species that do not contain flammable resins, have leaves with higher moisture content, and do not seasonally accumulate excess fuel beneath it. An ideal location to use gravel and rocks is around the perimeter of your home where fuels reduction is most critical. Dead, dry plant material is another fire risk to wacth out for, and choosing native, drought resilent species can reduce dead fuels around your home. 

Beautiful Local Examples of Xeriscaping