Water, Earth, Wind & Fire.

To learn more

The Web has loads of information about water-wise gardening. You can start learning at these Web sites: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/pubgard.html (Colorado State University Cooperative Extension Service) and http://www.xeriscape.org/ (Xeriscape Colorado)

We are heading into our fourth year of drought in Montana. Even though we may not have mandatory water restrictions in our area, I'd bet most of you would like to conserve water in your landscape. You can start by educating yourselves on water-wise landscaping principles. Then, consider renovating your garden in phases. If you are building a new house, now is the time to install a water-wise landscape rather than 4,000 square feet of sod lawn. Here are 10 design ideas to get you going on a great-looking, water-wise landscape:

- Build a rock garden. Study local rock formations then try to emulate those when you place the stones. Creeping evergreens, colorful sedums, rock cress, grasses and other perennials between the rocks will help make it look like a natural outcropping. These plants are usually well adapted to dry conditions.

- Water tends to run off steep slopes, making it difficult to establish plants. Divide the slope into relatively level terraces with several short retaining walls. The terraces will hold more moisture; and if you make one or two of those terraces wide enough, you can dramatically increase your usable outdoor space.

- Transform your front or back yard into a Japanese-influenced garden with pebble mulch, accent boulders, dwarf evergreens mixed with ornamental grasses and a flowering crab. A grade-level deck with built-in benches fits the Asian theme.

- Replace some of your lawn with bold, curving plant beds. Easy places to begin installing beds are under the canopies of trees and shrubs, in the corners of your garden, near a fence, patio or deck, and on the boulevard strip. Group low evergreens in front of flowering shrubs such as lilac, viburnum or mock orange. With drifts of colorful perennials and grasses, these beds can create a series of related, connected garden rooms. Make sure you amend the soil before you plant, and mulch the beds with shredded bark mulch or compost. Use drip emitters at tree, shrub and perennial root zones and micro-sprays on groundcovers.

- Add a private patio near your dining room or kitchen. Use stamped concrete, pavers, brick, slate or flagstone. If you already have a patio, consider enlarging the paved area. Think about the style of your house and garden and design the patio to fit: it's easy to add curves to a patio, so don't limit yourself to right angles. Raised planters around the perimeter can create intimacy while deciduous trees such as flowering crab or aspens will give your patio shade and definition.

- Install a deck or expand the one you have by adding another level or two. A second level might be the perfect spot for a spa. Install a shade structure or a privacy screen to create a comfortable outdoor living space.

- Build a hidden garden getaway - a gazebo or pavilion in a corner of your garden. Surround it with shade trees, shrub and perennial beds and make a winding path between your house and the getaway.

- Plant an herb garden in a sunny spot. Herbs have practical, culinary and aromatic value and many are adapted to dry climates. They also have ornamental value, so treat perennial herbs as part of the permanent ornamental landscape. Plant water-loving herbs with similar plants and irrigate those efficiently with a drip system.

- Install pathways to connect your outdoor spaces. Use pavers, brick, concrete, bark mulch, stepping-stones or BB rock (coarse mason's sand.) Make your paths wide enough for garden carts and lovers. A width of four feet is comfortable; three feet is OK. A two-foot-wide path is good for informal meandering through the garden, but not for a main walkway.

- If you have a large lot, plant a lawn just the size you need, near your house. Then, over several years transform the outlying areas into naturalistic meadows. Learn about meadow and prairie maintenance before you go this route. Short native grasses with wildflowers planted in drifts can be a beautiful and dramatic transition between the landscaped areas close to your home and the surrounding "wild" areas.

My next column will be on the seven basic principles of xeriscaping. For more information about waterwise landscaping, or to ask me a garden design question that may be answered in future columns, write to me at or call 443-0141.

Maureen Shaughnessy is a landscape designer with a Landscape Architecture degree from the University of Washington and over 14 years' practical experience in various aspects of landscape design, including commercial and residential plant design, on-site consulting, xeriscaping, custom decks, patios and other garden elements. She specializes in native plants and water-wise landscapes in gardens of any style. She has lived and worked in Helena for 24 years.