Landscape Guides

Xeriscape and canopy trees are often treated as opposites — rip out the turf, replace it with gravel, and you’ve “gone desert-friendly.” But gravel alone doesn’t cool a street. Trees do. The goal isn’t choosing between water-wise and green — it’s combining them correctly.

The core principle: separate zones

Give each tree its own irrigated zone — a basin or drip ring sized to its root spread — surrounded by decomposed granite, rock mulch, or drought-tolerant groundcover everywhere else. The tree gets consistent water where it needs it; everything around it stays low-water.