In desert or drought-prone areas, zerocaping is becoming more and more popular. However, it’s hard to give up soft green grass for something completely different. Luckily, we’ve gathered some of the most beautiful and ingenius ideas in xeriscaping to inspire your own creativity.

Often, zeroscaping and zero-scaping are used interchangeably, but there are actually very different. Xeriscaping is all about using drought friendly plants and shrubs in your landscape to reduce or eliminate watering costs. Zero-scaping is using no plants at all and instead utilizing only materials like rock, wood, gravel, etc. Whether you prefer xeri, zero, or something in between, here are 10 beautiful yards that prove any landscape style can be beautiful.

I love this idea for a xeriscape border using a combination of gravel, succulents, and drought-friendly ground cover.

source

Who says zeroscaping can’t be colorful?! This blue gravel gives me all sorts of happiness.

source

Ever desert house needs a pool and this oasis in the backyard is the perfect solution for providing a beautiful pool area without the heavy watering of grass or flowerbeds.

source

This is a great idea for a sideyard or backyard with minimal plants, drought friendly trees, and a creative walkway.

source

This looks more like a botanical garden than a backyard. What a beautiful use of depth and texture using all desert plants but maintaining a full, colorful garden.

 source

Succulent gardens are all the rage, but I’ve never seen one done quite to this scale before. The result is absolutely stunning.

source

Is zeroscaping is your ultimate goal, consider using different types of gravel in an interesting and eye-catching design.

source

Make a dry riverbed to add dimension instead of flat gravel. Simply dig a small trench and fill with river rock to give the look of a winding river.

Get creative by using drought-friendly plants in shapes that everyone can appreciate and adore.

source

Landscaping and gardening with bright and beautiful varieties of colorful flowers, bushes, and various plants is a great way to have some fun around your home. Yellow flowering plants have a vibrant way of adding a glow to a flower garden. 

Whether you pick just a couple of your favorite colors, or go for a large array of shades, flowering plants can quickly bring a smile to your face and give your landscape a unique personality.  Here are 5 yellow flowering plants that will create a bright and bold garden!

 Basket of Gold:

This perennial alyssum creates a gorgeous and inviting display of petite yellow flowers throughout the spring months.  This lovely flower is very drought tolerant, disease resistant, and does best when it gets full sun.  Another added benefit to the Basket of Gold plants is that they often attract butterflies.

    ‘Buttered Popcorn’ Daylily

This beautiful flowering plant brings stunning 6” yellow blooms in the summer.  They have a lovely fragrance, and will continue to re-bloom throughout the summer and fall.  Daylilies are some of the easiest plants to grow as they are very tolerant of both drought to wet soils.  These plants can also thrive in container gardens.

      Goldstrum Black-Eyed Susan

These traditional and well known flowers create wonderful pops of color throughout your landscape.  They bloom throughout the summer and fall, and create great visual texture to your flower beds when planted in large groups.  This native American wildflower is not adversely affected by drought conditions or garden insects and various pests.

After the summer growing season and beauty of the fall leaves comes Halloween, a slower time for most home gardeners, but certainly a season when you can still enjoy your outdoor spaces.

 Add a little Halloween sparkle to your yard this year, with these free outdoor fall decorating ideas.  Using plants and harvest from your garden to decorate, bring out a festive, at no cost to you.

A quick and easy addition to your Halloween inspired landscape is a few well-placed plants potted inside of plastic cauldrons!  It’s as simple as a little bit of potting soil, some fresh plants, and a couple of witches’ cauldrons from your local party supply store and you are well on your way to a simple scary scene.

Some seasonal blossoms are something to think about when you are planting your garden in the spring – if you plant some late blooming flowers along your walks and drive that have yellow and orange blossoms you can create a naturally festive scene.

Nothing says Halloween and Fall more than bright orange pumpkins!  These seasonal plants are a great way to add festive touches to your landscape.  Uncut pumpkins can last for several weeks when they are kept outdoors in the nice cool fall air.

 Additionally, there are many varieties of gourds and squashes that come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and textures.  These work really great in combination with the more transitional orange jack-o-lantern style pumpkins.  Consider creating some seasonal displays with groups of pumpkins and gourds.

Dried corn stalks are another great resources for Halloween décor.  Tie a dozen or so stalks together with some fun ribbon, near front doors or patios.  

If you want to kick up the scare factor you may want to place some spooky skeletons and ghosts throughout the landscape – poking out from the bushes, hiding behind trees, a few bones here and there scattered throughout your garden plot is certain to give everyone a momentary fright.

If you have ever planted a garden and forgotten to mark the rows of seedlings with garden markers, chances are you were confused and surprised by what came up and where.  Many plants can look similar in the early stages of growth so having a good marking system is very important to the success of your garden.  Here are 10 great ideas for garden markers:

      Everyone loves a cute garden gnome, so how about some fun little gnome markers!

Gnome Markers

      These simple and rustic plant markers won’t disappoint.  They are simple yet are elegant. 

Twig Markers

      With a few wooden stakes and some chalkboard vinyl you can make these re-usable, changeable garden markers

Chalkboard Markers

      For a more artistic approach check out these fun plant markers

  With a few paint sticks from your local hardware store you can make these fun and colorful garden markers that are sure to stand out and grab your attention.  This makes these markers practically free to

Paint Stick Markers