Question
Hello,

We recently bought a house in LA county and are planning on xeriscaping the front yard. We aren't going to do it immediately but in a few months we are having to dig up the sewer line and so that seems like a good opportunity to NOT return the grass to that area and put in a more water-friendly ground cover.

Do you have any basic suggestions for someone who knows nothing? For example, should we try to do this ourselves since we are on a limited budget or is it advisable to hire someone? How should we get rid of the rest of the grass that won't be dug up with the sewer line? In terms of a basic groundcover, we are thinking of something very low maintenance like small rocks or even dirt: do you have a recommendation for a base that looks nice over a long period of time? We will probably plant a few things here and there, but I don't really want to spend much time "gardening" in the front yard (I prefer to spend gardening time and energy on things you can eat, which we'll put in the backyard). There are also two enormous, very old trees in the front which cannot be removed-how is best to xeriscape around the trees? Basically I know next to nothing about xeriscape except that it seems like a much better idea for a desert climate, so any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Megan

Answer
Hey, Megan.

You should be able to install new xeriscape landscaping yourself. That's because most xeriscape plants don't have a lot of requirements, which is what makes them good xeriscape plants.

For basic suggestions, see this file: http://www.russel-ray.com/reports/Vegetation.pdf

If you don't want to remove the grass yourself, you can probably hire a couple of college or high school students to do it pretty inexpensively. They'd love the spending money for doing something that doesn't require a lot of though.

Personally, I like decorative rocks over bare soil, and the decorative rocks will help conserve moisture in your soil. Put a weed screen between the ground and the rocks, and you'll have extremely low maintenance landscaping.

If you want low maintenance landscaping around the trees, which probably provide some significant shade, try some succulents. In the file I provided for you, see Figures 15, 16, 23, 25. You could also plant something like begonias which are always blooming.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Have fun!

Russel