Owner
Chris
City
Longmont
Skill Set
Intermediate
Project Size
1,000+ sq ft
Project Location
Front yard
Sun Exposure
Full sun
Year Completed
2022
Time Commitment
11 - 20 hours of labor
Project Cost
less than $500
Other Project Elements
Native or drought-tolerant plants
Resource Central Programs
Advice from the Owner
I converted RV parking on the other side of my driveway (we don't own an RV) to a waterwise yard, and I was so happy with the results that I decided to do the same thing to my front lawn. I smothered the grass with cardboard and covered the cardboard with black mulch. I needed WAY more mulch than I estimated (roughly 80 bags total). I recommend waiting until mid to late summer to mulch as many places offer decent sales then. One mistake I made on the driveway gardens was separating plants by the "mature growth width" without considering the width of the plant next to it. So, if mature growth was 24" and you plant it next to another plant that's mature growth is 24", they need to be 48" apart. This may seem obvious to most people, but I am an English major. So, for the front lawn, I erred on the side of more distance between plants to avoid crowding.
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Owner
Emily
City
Longmont
Skill Set
Intermediate
Project Size
250 - 500 sq ft
Project Location
Front yard
Sun Exposure
Full sun
Year Completed
2022
Time Commitment
31 - 40 hours of labor
Project Cost
less than $500
Other Project Elements
Native or drought-tolerant plants, Drip irrigation system, Boulders
Resource Central Programs
None
Advice from the Owner
We were tired of paying a huge water bill and wasting water on a mediocre lawn in out desert landscape. Instead, we wanted native and drought resistant plants that only needed a small drip line. I am so proud that we did 100% of the labor ourselves from removing the sod, to replacing the edging, to swapping out spray irrigation heads for drip line heads. It was a ton of hot, labor-intensive work, but I am happy with our result in the end. I am glad we called 811 so we didn't accidentally hit a utility line. When we do our boulevard strip in the near future, we will be more realistic with our timeline and budget- this is not a job for one or two weekends. The ~400 sf patch took us over 40 man hours and due to the cost of steel (edging) was ~$1500.
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Owner
Emily
City
Longmont
Skill Set
Beginner
Project Size
Less than 250 sq ft
Project Location
Front yard
Sun Exposure
Full sun
Year Completed
2021
Time Commitment
11 - 20 hours of labor
Project Cost
less than $500
Other Project Elements
Native or drought-tolerant plants
Resource Central Programs
Advice from the Owner
I love how wild it looks! The bees and butterflies love it, and today we had a hummingbird checking it out! I wish that I had spaced some of the plants a little further apart - they sort of exploded. So some of them are big and really close together, and I have patches where others didn't make it and I'll need to replant.
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Owner
Blanche and Ron
City
Longmont
Skill Set
Intermediate
Project Size
1,000+ sq ft
Project Location
Front yard
Sun Exposure
Full sun
Year Completed
2021
Time Commitment
less than 10 hours of labor
Project Cost
less than $500
Other Project Elements
Native or drought-tolerant plants, Drip irrigation system, Raised/tiered beds, Pathways, Patio/sitting areas, Boulders, Berm/swale, Shrubs
Resource Central Programs
Advice from the Owner
It took ‘special approval’ from our HOA, was a lot of work for two senior citizens, and took longer than we thought it would, but we are so fortunate to have the will and ability to do almost all of the work ourselves! So many with expertise freely shared with us, such as staff at Resource Central, Boulder County Parks and Open Space, Harlequins Gardens (Boulder), CSU Extension, and Denver Botanical Gardens. Waterwise Webinars are highly recommended; they helped us embrace a new kind of gardening and get started with drought-resistant perennials. Sod removal (great job, Resource Central!) and electrical were hired out. Now, our yard is much more interesting to us than the rectangle of sod that it used to be!
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