I live in Denver, where water conservation issues tend to hit us harder than wetter parts of the country.  Over the past five years, we have seen xeriscaped yards becoming much more popular.

Xeriscaping is when a yard is landscaped so that it doesn’t need to be watered.  Often this means the entire yard is covered in rock or mulch, with just a few hardy plants poking through.  Although mulch is softer and looks nice initially, in my experience it “travels” far too easily (i.e. gets stuck on people’s shoes and moves beyond its original boundaries).  Also, mulch tends to break down over time — the mulch around our house that looked fantastic when we moved in three years ago, now looks rather crummy and unkempt.

Rock or gravel looks unfriendly and uninviting, in my opinion — unless it’s really done right.  The good news is that rock beds last a lot longer than mulch.  The bad news is that they are more expensive to buy and have installed.

Gravel and rock for xeriscaping needs to be run through gravel screening machines or rock screens to ensure that they are all of uniform sizes, for one thing — that is part of what gives you continuity in a xeriscaped yard.  Also, they need to be visually inspected and sorted to ensure that the color is similar enough to complete the perception of continuity.  A rock and gravel screener isn’t cheap, and part of this cost gets passed on to you in the landscaper’s prices.  However, I do think it’s worth it in the long run, as the rock is a better investment than mulch!

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