Colorado Landscaping Ideas

Water Wise Flower Garden

• Colorado residents can enjoy beautiful and colorful flowers in their garden in spite of the limited rainfall received in the state. Planting flowers that require less water to grow and bloom in the flower garden is an important landscaping idea for areas prone to drought. Plants native to this particular geographical area (like the desert four o'clock), as well as flowers from other dry or elevated areas in the world like South Africa, the Himalayas and the Middle East, can be used in the Colorado flower garden.

  Those flowers include paperflower, dragon's blood, autumn joy, purple winter, black-eyed Susan and Oriental poppy. The following flowers also require less water, blooming successfully in the Colorado flower garden landscape: Sea lavender, English lavender, baby's breath and the daylily, according to Colorado State University Extension.

Mulch the Landscape

• Applying mulch to flower and shrub beds can help lower the soil temperature, thus reducing the water needs of the plants, if the proper mulch is used. It can also improve the appearance of the landscape since it reduces weeds. Using mulch can also improve the soil's condition, according to the Colorado State University Extension.

  The best mulch for the Colorado landscape includes both organic and inorganic, depending upon your objectives and the particular area's soil moisture and condition. For Colorado landscapes that need flower and shrub bed soil improvements, use organic mulch. Landscapes that battle weeds require the inorganic mulch made out of woven fabrics or fiber mats, which keep out the weeds but not the air and water needed by plants.

Reduce Irrigated Turf Grasses

• Deep green-colored grass on a large lawn in the Colorado landscape can be a breathtaking sight but is a water-intensive, too. However, it is possible to have your cake and eat it too by reducing how much of the bluegrass turf is used in the landscape. Instead of sowing bluegrass turf all over the lawn landscape, limit it to particular areas that receive high traffic such as near the home.

  If the landscape property is quite large, drought-resistant ornamental grasses can be used in the outlying areas. This would still give the landscape a grassy look while also limiting the water consumption it would require otherwise. In addition, these varying colored and sized grasses will add to the beauty of the landscape. Some drought-resistant ornamental grasses include big bluestem, Indian grass, little bluestem, Buffalo grass, blue grama (Colorado's state grass), and Western wheatgrass.