Create an environmentally responsible, stunning outdoor design with these tips on designing a drought-resistant garden that stays beautiful year-round from Past the Gate, the Bay Area’s luxury home landscaping experts.
How to design a drought-tolerant landscape
- Choose native and drought-tolerant plants
- Design for beauty and efficiency
- Improve soil health
- Install a smart irrigation system
- Ensure success with expert help
Choose Native and Drought-Tolerant Plants
You don’t have to sacrifice aesthetics, variety, or color to achieve a sustainable garden design, whether you prefer a contemporary tropical, edible, Mediterranean, Tuscan, English cottage, or California native garden style. Many beautiful plants thrive in the Bay Area climate. Some of our favorites include:
- Trees – olive, crape myrtle, coast live oak, California sycamore, and desert willow
- Bushes – lavender, sage, rosemary, manzanita, California lilac, rock rose, and Christmas berry
- Flowers and perennials – yarrow, California poppy, blanket flower, penstemon, echinacea, and coreopsis
- Ornamental grasses – blue fescue, purple mountain grass, deer grass, and Mexican feather grass
- Groundcover – creeping thyme, sedum, yarrow, lantana, and dymondia
- Succulents – aloe, agave, echeveria, sedum, and crassula ovata
- Wildlife/pollinator friendly – milkweed, salvia, sage, yarrow, lupine, penstemon, manzanita, toyon, and California lilac, poppy, and fuchsia.
- Herbs – sage, oregano, thyme, lavender, and rosemary
- Edibles – fig, olive, grape, heirloom and cherry tomato, pepper and chilie, artichoke, sweet potato, bush bean, chard, and kale
Design Your Bay Area Yard for Beauty and Efficiency
Our experienced landscape architects recommend thoughtful planning to reduce water usage and support optimal plant health, keeping in mind these essentials:
- Create hydro-zones, grouping plants with similar water needs to prevent over or underwatering
- Add shade by thoughtfully placing pergolas and large trees above temperature and moisture-sensitive plants to reduce heat stress and evaporation
- Layer plants by height and texture to create zones, highlight a design feature, boost seasonal interest and color, or reduce weed growth and maintenance
- Reduce grass and turf with less thirsty native groundcover or use low-maintenance hardscaping like permeable pavers, gravel, or natural stone
- Prevent erosion and capture rainwater with by adding bioswales, rain gardens, terracing, and retaining walls
Focus on Soil Health
Healthy soil improves moisture balance and helps plants develop a deeper root system, ensuring your garden can withstand temperature and rainfall fluctuations. Uncover deficiencies through soil testing, adding manure, natural fertilizers, mycorrhizal fungi, and other organic amendments to support stronger, healthier plants. Add compost and mulch to insulate roots and improve moisture retention, and coarse compost, fine gravel, and pumice to enhance drainage and prevent stress and disease.
Install a Smart Irrigation System
Prevent water loss from overspray and evaporation by replacing traditional sprinklers with drip irrigation and smart controllers. Drip systems apply water directly to the roots, reducing waste and runoff, while smart irrigation technology monitors and adapts in real time to rainfall and soil moisture, dispensing the ideal amount of water. Available technology can also monitor and alert you about leaks, allowing you to adjust settings on demand via Wi-Fi-enabled controllers to reduce water waste and protect your landscaping investment.
Ensure Success with Help from the Bay Area’s Luxury Landscape Design Experts
Past the Gate specializes in crafting low-maintenance, visually stunning, environmentally responsible outdoor spaces. We collaborate closely with you, tailoring every element, providing custom solutions that elevate your yard and complement your personal style and home architecture. We handle everything in-house, from professional plant selection and layout to irrigation system design, outdoor shelter, and furnishing installation and setup. We also provide ongoing, personalized yard care services to protect your investment and let you enjoy your thriving garden without maintenance stress.
Bring Your Dream Outdoor Design to Life
Start designing a drought-resistant garden that stays beautiful year-round. Contact Past the Gate at 925-387-6731 to schedule a luxury home landscape design consultation in Walnut Creek, Berkeley, Palo Alto, Oakland, Napa, Danville, Orinda, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Alamo, and Moraga today.
