Drought-Tolerant Landscaping Ideas

Sacramento summers are long, hot and dry. Keeping a big lawn green takes a lot of water and work. Many homeowners are swapping some or all of their lawn for a water-wise yard built around stone. Done well, it looks finished all year and needs far less care. Stone does not need watering, and it gives shape to beds of low-water plants. This guide covers ideas, stone choices, planning and what to bring when you visit.

Water-wise design ideas

Large stones set in gravel or river rock can look like they float on a stream of stone. A dry creek bed of cobbles gives the eye a path to follow and can carry winter rain across the yard.

Keep some softness in the design. A few mounded beds, a small seating area and plants that spill over the edges keep a stone yard from feeling too hard. Mix textures, such as fine gravel next to rough boulders, so the eye has somewhere to rest.

• Gravel or pebble ground cover around low-water plants
• A dry creek bed with boulders and cobbles and pebbles
• Flagstone paths through planting beds
• Boulder groupings in place of a front lawn
• Lava accents with holes for succulents

Which stone works and why

Valley Gold Crushed Gravel has warm golden-brown tones and is sold in super sacks of about 3,000 pounds, in 3/4 inch and 1 to 3 inch sizes. Mexican Pebbles, Rainbow Pebbles and San Pablo Blue add color along beds and creek beds. Our sister company in the same yard, Roundtree Rock and Gardening, sells bulk river rock, gravel and decomposed granite.

Moss Rock, Black Lichen Lava and Arizona Moss Black carry natural lichen and weathered surfaces that look settled from day one. Planter Lava is often used for garden decoration. Stock changes, so call to check what is in the yard today.

Planning and installing basics

Start with a plan: where people walk, where plants go, and where water drains in winter. Clay soil is common in the Sacramento Valley and drains slowly, so slope ground cover away from the house.

Group plants by water need and run drip irrigation to the beds. Lay stone over a firm base. Boulders look best when their bottoms are set into the soil. Our boulder ideas page covers placement.

What to bring when you visit

Measure the areas you want to convert and bring the square footage. Bring your landscape plan and a photo of the house. Tell staff which areas get foot traffic and which are planting beds, so they can suggest gravel, pebbles, boulders and flagstone that work together.

If you are not sure where to start, begin with one area, like the front parkway strip or a hot corner where grass struggles. You can add to it later with matching stone.