Hi Blooming_Annie, welcome! Wanted to say peonies grow very well here in CO and they're fairly low water once established! Plus the deer don't normally eat them....

Welcome, Blooming Annie! Happy to have you join us at RMG. Lots of resources in the Springs to give you ideas. Some top notch nurseries and gardens around the area. Go exploring and see what catches your fancy.

Jump in anytime! Glad to have so many new handles join us.

LizinElizabeth, I adore peonies but have never lived where I could grow them. Can't wait to have my own!

A good friend of mine has a peony bush here in Colorado Springs, but I think she has to baby it a bit. Welcome to "The Springs"!

Hi Annie,

Welcome to RMG! We're glad you found us!

If you do decide to get rid of a bunch of grass in your front yard, and it gets a LOT of sun, you might want to consider putting in all xeric plants/perennials, which will cut the watering WAY back after they've been in for about a year. You can get lots of recommendations for xeric plants here if you decide to go that way. You could still put in some separate beds for the things that need more water so you can have things like peonies and annuals for continuous color, but by separating them you wouldn't need to water everything as much, and could concentrate on just the areas that need more.

You also might want to see if you can find out if you'll have watering restrictions this summer (something you may have never hear of!), and what they'll be if you will. That way you can start making your plans with the restrictions already in mind.

Have fun planning,
Skybird

Thanks Songbird. I had an almost grass-free, mostly xeric front yard in Charleston and that is what I would like to do here. I've gotten a lot of useful info from this forum. Now I'd like to turn back the hands of time and start wintersowing!