I bought a HUD home in August. The backyard needs some TLC. I'd like to winter sow plants to help improve my backyard. But first I need some plant help!

My plan is for a family/dog friendly backyard that is also xeric. During the spring/summer/fall, I'm a weekend gardener at best so the yard needs to be low maintenance as well.

I found a xeric landscape plan ( Easy Living - half way down the page) that I like for a variety of reasons (focus on affordable plants, uses existing back deck structure, low maintenance, grassy space).

I've been researching the plants. I am not a fan of the bright pink plants in the plan (coral bells, Hancock coralberry, Red-leaf rose and purple iceplant).

I'm fine with the more mellow Mexican Evening Primrose.

I'm looking for advice! I'd like to find xeric plants that would compliment the other plants in the plan, without being bright pink.

I found a creamy white coral bell and a white iceplant, but I'm very open to other great options.

Thanks!

~becca in Broomfield

Agastache has a long flowering period and is much loved by hummingbirds. There are several varieties. Catmint is pretty, it has blue flowers. Columbine is native to Colorado, comes in a wide variety of colors, and blooms almost continuously throughout the growing season.

All of the plants I've mentioned are perennial. Veronica Speedwell is a good ground cover. It has light blue flowers in spring. Good luck with your new garden!
Lorna

Almost every drought tolerant plant requires regular water it's first year so you do need to plan that for your first summer. Low maintenance is ONLY possible if you kill all weeds first and mulch. Columbines will often bloom spring & go dormant over the summer without much water, but they'll generally live. With water you get a much longer bloom period.

There are many heucheras (coral bells) - no pink, but is red ok? There's a firefly (red,) Dale's Strain (nice variegated leaf colors with cream flowers) or Palace Purple (deep purple leaves. white flower). They'll be easy enough to wintersow but grow slowly. All should fit in with their color scheme.

Aquilegia (columbine) is VERY easy from seed and comes in all sorts of colors - yellow, white, blue or red - you pick, they'll all look good (just don't get a seedmix or you'll likely get pink!).

Cerastium tomentosum (snow in summer Easy from seed, on their list further down) could be substituted for the ice plant as could serbian or greek yarrow.

The coralberry gets 1 ft X 1 1/2ft or so - you could substitute penstemon husker red (for reddish foliage, has white flowers) although you won't have the "winter interest" the branches of a shrub would get you.

For the redleaf rose, substitute another hardy shrub rose (not a climber) - you can find them in red, yellow or white easily enough. Looks like every color is already in the plan (currently the cream/white from the grasses) - so whichever color you pick should blend with the scheme.

I'm in Colorado Springs and have planted the entire front yard in xeriscape. Am not a pink person either.

A lot of people forget that Iris is fairly drought tolerant. I planted about a dozen given to me from a friend and rarely watered them. They are growning like weeds. She was great and let me choose the colors, went for her rusts and reds. I was cleaning out the beds yesterday and they are already up 4".

My favorite for a ground cover are the wild geraniums which come in blues of all shades. Also, regardless of what we have been told about Primrose, am planting it. There are a lot of corners to fill in the backyard and it can do as it pleases.