This model yard pulls out all the stops on GREAT drought tolerant outdoor living. From an edible mini food forest to a once-a-week watered lawn and lots of beautiful small shade trees. Native & mediterranean plants galore. Check out some of the article highlights (or click here to read the whole thing!): 

Purple-flowering catmint, salvia and lavender stand out among silvery foliage. Some of Lyons’ favorite silvery plants for dry gardens include wormwood (Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’, zones 6 to 9), catmint (Nepeta x faassenii ‘Walker’s Low’, zones 3 to 8), lavender (Lavandula ‘Goodwin Creek Grey’, zones 7 to 9), native purple sage (Salvia leucophylla) and pineapple guava (Acca sellowiana, zones 8 to 10). “The lavender, catmint [and] sages add fragrance to the garden, and the pineapple guava provides edible flowers,” she says.

This yard is the inspiration behind our Mediterranean Magic Plant packages as well as some of our Hot Homesteader plants. Check out this wild before & after!

"The beds are dense with plants; Lyon took an architectural approach with the understory, middle story and overstory to create structure. “I planted thickly to crowd out weeds and to protect the soil moisture — the more it is shaded, the more the soil retains moisture,” Lyon says. “I wanted to make sure there was always something blooming throughout the seasons. We also wanted the garden to attract bees, hummingbirds and butterflies.”