Thoughtful gardens require more than a plant list.
At Xeric Garden, I help homeowners create beautiful, resilient gardens that are suited to Colorado’s climate and the specific conditions of their property.
My work focuses on thoughtful plant selection, waterwise design, native and adapted plant communities, difficult sites, rock and crevice gardens, lawn alternatives, and firescaping.
Every property is different. Soil, exposure, drainage, elevation, moisture, temperature, and microclimate all influence what will actually thrive. The goal is not simply to find plants that can survive Colorado, but to create a garden where the right plants have a reason to be there.
What I Do
Custom Garden Design
Custom planting and garden design for homeowners undertaking a larger transformation.
Projects may include:
- Site evaluation and garden planning
- Plant selection and placement
- Planting plans and garden layouts
- Seasonal interest and long term planning
- Waterwise planting strategies
- Rock and hardscape considerations
- Firescape informed design
- Integration of existing plants and landscape features
Garden Consulting
For homeowners who enjoy doing the work themselves but want experienced guidance before making significant changes.
Consultations can address:
- Plant selection and placement
- Problem areas and struggling plants
- Garden layout and organization
- Irrigation considerations
- Lawn reduction or replacement
- Native and regionally appropriate planting
- Difficult microclimates
- Waterwise strategies
- Firescaping
- Improving and editing established gardens
Xeric & Waterwise Gardens
Beautiful gardens can be designed around Colorado’s climate rather than fighting it.
I work with plants and design strategies that are appropriate for dry conditions while still creating the density, seasonal interest, and character that make a garden feel intentional.
A xeric garden does not have to look sparse, barren, or like a collection of gravel and succulents. Good xeric design is about understanding where water is available, where it is not, and putting the right plants in the right places.
Native Prairie & Grasslands
Native grasses and prairie plants can create landscapes with a strong sense of place while providing habitat and reducing long term inputs.
I work with native species and regional plant communities to create naturalistic landscapes designed around the specific conditions of the site rather than simply attempting to replicate a wild prairie.
Lawn Alternatives
Replacing conventional turf with something more useful and appropriate for the site.
This can include:
- Native grasses
- Prairie plantings
- Low water groundcovers
- Naturalistic perennial plantings
- Other well adapted lawn alternatives
The goal isn’t simply to remove lawn. It’s to create something better.
Rock & Crevice Gardens
Specialized gardens built around stone, elevation, drainage, and plants that thrive in challenging conditions.
Crevice gardens are particularly useful for creating highly specialized planting environments and can provide an opportunity to grow plants that would struggle in conventional beds.
These projects are highly site-specific and are accepted selectively.
Firescaping
Landscape strategies that consider wildfire behavior and defensible space while maintaining an attractive, cohesive garden.
This can include:
- Thoughtful plant selection
- Strategic plant spacing
- Reduction of continuous fuel
- Appropriate placement of trees and shrubs
- Gravel, stone, and other landscape materials
- Transition zones around structures
Firescaping is not about eliminating plants. It is about being intentional about where plants are placed and how the landscape behaves during a wildfire.
Difficult Colorado Sites
Some of the most interesting gardens are also the hardest to design.
I work with challenging conditions including:
- Heavy clay or poor soils
- Dry shade
- Exposed sites
- Slopes
- Poor drainage
- Seasonal wet areas
- Hot, reflected exposures
- Cold pockets
- High elevation conditions
- Areas with limited irrigation
Rather than forcing a conventional landscape into an unsuitable location, I look at what the site is already telling us and design around it.
Rare & Unusual Plants
For clients looking beyond the typical garden center selection, I can help identify and source unusual, hard to find, or specialty plants that are appropriate for the site and climate.
This may include uncommon cultivars, specialty perennials, regional selections, and plants from specialty growers.
The goal isn’t simply to find something rare. It’s to find something unusual that has a reason to be there and a realistic chance of thriving.
A Different Approach to Plant Selection
I don’t approach plant selection as a simple checklist of “native” or “drought tolerant.”
The right plant depends on the specific conditions of the site, including soil, exposure, drainage, elevation, moisture, temperature, and the surrounding plant community.
A successful Colorado garden can thoughtfully combine native species, well-adapted non-native plants, and unusual specimens when each plant has a purpose and can thrive in its intended location.
Right plant. Right place. Right purpose.
A Limited Practice
Xeric Garden is intentionally kept small.
I take on only a select number of private projects each year, allowing me to remain personally involved in the work and give each project the level of thought, research, and attention it deserves.
New projects are accepted by referral and invitation only.
Private projects are considered selectively based on the goals of the homeowner, the nature of the site, the scope of the work, and my ability to give the project the attention it deserves.