Great Drought-Tolerant Front Yards

We scooped up the cutest totally turf-less front yards we could find to show you just how much is possible with low-water plants. Read on for some of the best drought-tolerant California landscaping ideas...

7 Incredible Lawn-Free Frontyards for Southern California

Looking for ideas for lawn replacement? We've been snooping the streets for the best (and most eco-forward) Southern California lawn-free front yard ideas. With a few examples from Northern California too! Like the wildflower and ornamental grass meadows below. Because yards without grass can still be very crush-worthy.

Scrolling down, you'll notice one thing these yards all have in common: a lot of plants. Gorgeous oceans of foliage. Why? Because plants are the best water storage mechanisms on the planet. And their leaf canopies provide shade that cools surface temps at an efficiency rate 23x that of air conditioning. Making it a no-brainer that we replace grass with drought-tolerant or perennial plants to help cool our climate. As long as we make plant choices that continue use less water than conventional lawns.

Which isn't a big ask, because the majority of perennial plants like iris, verbena, or ornamental grasses (such as Muhlenbergia or Miscanthus) save up to %50 the amount of water as old lawn. With drought-tolerant plants like succulents, salvias, Australian or California natives saving 70-95% the water of traditional lawns. The trick with many of these plants is to amend your soil for great soil drainage. At minimum you'll need to put some rocks or a few inches of gravel at the bottom of your planting holes for drought-tolerant plants. This ensures plant roots that are more sensitive to moisture don't suffocate in the heavily compacted soils left behind by old lawn grass.  


Note: The author likes to stroll random neighborhoods looking for incredible yards & design ideas… Is one of the yards shown in this article yours??? Please contact us so that I can attribute your design or accommodate privacy requests. Love your work! 

 


There's nothing wrong with grass. Especially if it's a super drought-tolerant native variety! Large ornamental grasses are MUCH more drought-resistant than conventional lawn sods. And they provide a lot more privacy too. Mound your soil up where you're planting them to improve drainage and rainwater infiltration. Mix-in flowers for seasonal color. And be ready to cut-back ornamental grasses hard in Nov-Dec for the best growth in the following year. Or for Deer Grass you can clean-out dead blades with a hard rake at year's end instead if you don't like the look of it being cutback.

DESIGN IDEAS

  • Space Deer grass 3-5' apart to fill-in the majority of where your dead lawn used to be.
  • Intersperse a few similarly-sized colorful mounding shrubs at the back for contrast
  • Use large native cactus like thornless prickly pear Opuntia or Agave for privacy
  • Use low-water hedge plants like Westringia or Rhamnus for hedging in patios


    • FEATURE PLANTS

    Deer Grass (Muhlenbergia rigens), Westringia 'Morning Light', Baby Sage (Salvia Microphylla ) Thornless Prickly Pear (Opuntia ellisiana)

    Tidy, Bright & Modern Entry

    Check this cute instant classic low-water California entry garden

    The sharp color contrast of this navy blue, brick red and white stucco house pairs perfect with bright purple sages and golden kangaroo paws. Other vibrant pops of color from fall foliage'd crepe myrtle and bright orange lion's tail bring home the swan song. I snapped a pic of this yard 2 years ago before it reached maturity and I can tell you, it looked pretty good then too.

    DESIGN IDEAS

  • Emphasize formal layout features with straight lines (like those of walkways, fencing and hedging)
  • Add a clean low privacy-wall for a backdrop to brightly colored plants (head’s up: many suburban areas require a 3-foot setback and a wall height of 3 feet or less)
  • Plant the same species in widely spaced rows or square patterns with one contrasting plant at the center or a few at far edges.
  • Mulch Heavily. A thick natural wood bark is essential for widely spaced plants.

    • FEATURE PLANTS

    Kangaroo paw (Anigazanthos), Palo Verde (Parkinsonia 'desert museum'), Crepe Myrtle (Lagerstroemia) or Jacaranda, Velvet or Mexican Sage (Salvia leucophylla), Lion's Tail Leonotis leonurus, Feathery Senna (Senna artemisioides)




    Rustic Wildflower Tapestry

    This style of frontyard is similar to a California meadow garden but it uses a bigger variety of plants with less uniform spacing.



    Tapestry gardens are fun fresh blends of low-water flowering plants reminiscent of cottage-style gardens. They can include native wildflowers, regular garden perennials, ornamental grasses and small trees. In California, they look most natural when the color palette is toned down a little. Giving the feel of the open chaparral grasslands that once covered much of the state. This type of wildflower garden is ideal for small front yards. As it can be hard to keep a big one from being too wild. They look especially great when paired with modern hardscape features - like horizontal cedar fences - or attractive brick entry walkways.

    DESIGN IDEAS

  • Choose plants with the same height at maturity for the vast majority of your layout
  • Choose plants with similar color flowers, mostly from the same 1/3 of the color wheel
  • Add a handful of plants with opposite or contrasting flower colors in strategic locations to draw the eye
  • Add 2-3 Taller growing species like Manzanita roughly at center or at the outside edges of your gardens.

    FEATURE PLANTS

    Bearded Iris (Iris germanica), Silver-leaved Yarrow (Achillea 'moonshine'), Island Bush Poppy (Dendromecon harfordii), Sedge Grass (native juncus or carex pansa), White Baby Sage (Salvia microphylla), Shoestring Acacia (Acacia stenophylla) Golden Poppy (Eschscholzia)

    • Rainbow Shrubscape

    Mix lots of colorful tall shrubs and small trees around patios and walkways for a welcoming sidewalk screen.

    These riotous shrub blends are great for Coastal & Northern California entry gardens. Cool coastal moisture and softened temps prepare drought-tolerant plants for rapid take off. The rainbow colors of exotic leucadendron, grevillea, cuphea and so many other South African and Australian native plants blend seamlessly with a few select California natives. Plus the splash of hot colors makes for a pollinator paradise nearly all year long.

    DESIGN IDEAS

  • Feature red and rosey hues at the center of the garden with copper, orange or yellow colored plants at the edge
  • Plant public yard edges with medium and tall plants for privacy
  • Plant low-growing succulents and grasses along your house's foundation and closest walkways
  • Use purple flowering natives & wildflowers up against the home to gently lead the eye from hot colors to cool ones.

    • FEATURE PLANTS

    Cigar Flower (Cuphea or Correa), Red Leucadendron, Grevillea 'Peaches 'n Cream, Copper Sedge Grass (Carex testacea 'Indian Summer' ) Dwarf Olive Patio Tree (Olea 'Montra'), Lion's tail (Leonitis), Verbena (Verbena bonariensis)

    Vivid Fresh Foliage

    This foliage-forward nook holds a hidden patio & winding permeable walkway


    This incredible garden is composed of blend of awesome year-round foliage plants to ensure you always have color. The huge variety of leaf shapes of these drought-tolerant species makes maintenance easy. The best part? This gorgeous wall of foliage is planted on top of mounded soil concealing a very private front yard patio / sitting space. Which also functions as a rain water absorption bed because of the level grade, natural water break created by the mounds and permeable paving at the entrance. The design ideas really go next level here.

    DESIGN IDEAS

  • Mound up soil towards property edges to frame private seating areas
  • Use dramatically contrasting foliage tones, keep flowering plants low-growing or to a minimum
  • Add 1-2 light-colored super spikey or angular shaped plants to frame the scene and contrast with the soft mounds of other foliage colors you’ve chosen

    • FEATURE PLANTS

    Purple Smokebush (Cotinus coggygria 'purple'), Purple Potato or Sand Cherry (Lycianthes / solanum rantonnettii), Dwarf Olive (olea 'montra'), Pea Shrub (polygala myrtifolia), Variegated Yucca, Golden Hair Grass or Gold Muhly Grass (use Deschampsia caes. or Muhlenbergia lindheirmi instead of invasive Mexican Hairgrass)

    Low-Water Japanese Rain Garden

    This gorgeous collection of dwarf ginkgo biloba's sits over an epic rain water collecting feature. Rosemary, mandarin, lavender and silver carpet dymondia pair with other low small dry grasses and wildflowers. A bonsai pine or 2 complete the effect. The topography of this garden is SO impressive. Having a nice deep seasonally dry stream bed like this really helps capture rain water in big storm seasons. Plus all the big rocks provide a lot of great drainage. A real high-functioning beauty.

    DESIGN IDEAS

  • A staggered row of dwarf trees with seasonal interest
  • Rocks. No Japanese garden is complete without them. They symbolize miniature mountain ranges in this traditional form of design.
  • Large “dry” streambed or rain garden. This one takes the cake by using a blue (silver carpet dymondia) groundcover to fill in the sunken flat surface of the rain water capturing feature, giving it the feel of water year-round with blue groundcover and mounding perennials


    • FEATURE PLANTS

    Dwarf ginkgo biloba (Ginkgo biloba ‘menhir’), Silver Carpet groundcover (Dymondia margaetae), Rosemary 'Boule', Japanese Black Pine or Bonsai Juniper, Wormwood 'Silver Mound' (Artemisia 'silver mound'), African Daisy, Suncups (Calolyphus) and Santa Barbara Daisy (Erigeron karvinskianus)

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