While I do love a grass-free lawn done right, this one just looks...forgotten and sad.

While I can understand the need to conserve water, I think some more extensive Xeriscaping gardening would have been a better solution, one that would have enhanced the beauty of your house as well. I love what you did with the house but the garden is kind of sad looking. It's not too late to alter your alterations!

I support the drive to conserve water and I like a well-designed rockscape very much. That said, this renovation is awful. As others have mentioned, it's forgotten and sad looking and is as much a visual blight as the dead grass it replaced.

why not native plants?

Three cheers for grass-free---but seriously, that's just a rocky wasteland. It needs a few native plants.

I'm all for grass-free and native landscapes. All that rock seems to scream "heat" to me, and doesn't seem very welcoming.

that thing gael said.

it screams heat because it is arizona and we have no water and it is 110 outside. i do think the yard could use a bit more, something, but considering the houses location, it is refreshing to see a yard that does not require water (but what about that sad patch of grass in the back?).

Having a "long gone long" in our rental duplex, I just hope weeds don't grow in Arizona because this kind of lawn does NOT mean minimal upkeep. You have to weed weekly or the entire thing starts to look like the lawn of a crack house.

am I the only person who appreciates this for the fact that it is a dramatic makeover on a budget? I think this is a great start to a yard that can develop over the future.

I don't care if you're in the desert, you can toss in a few more cactus or succulents. If you can't afford large 5 gallon established plants, buy some cheaper smaller 1 gallon plants and wait a couple years for them to grow in. It's a good start, but needs much much much more, I only count 9 plants. $200-300 in additional plants and it would be much nicer.

I like lawn free options but this just looks sad and neglected. Rocks + three sad plants = not landscaped. I don't see much difference between this visually and the "old people cement yards" that pop up in my neighborhood. And what is with the super ugly block wall in front?

Horrible. I think the only reason it looks better is because of the sunny day, the leaves on the tree, and the better camera.

Why the heck did they put that ugly wall there??? Are they constructing a small prison in their front yard?

All that gravel is going to reflect the heat back against the house and store it much longer than the grass when the sun goes down.

I'd advocate for some simple native or xeriscaping plant species as well, especially closer to the house. I believe succulents can stop wildfires from reaching the house as well (forget where I read that article).

The after is a major improvement over the before--I think most people could agree on that. I agree it could use a bit more work to create more interest, but it's a nice clean slate and I applaud them for working with their environs rather than pretending they live someplace other than a hot, arid, desert. I like greenery, so I would not choose to live in a desert, but for those who do, I think this is a step in the right direction.

Where did anybody get the idea this was a budget project? When I lived in Arizona, I rented, but homeowners told me it could run $5k to gravel an average-sized yard. Which is definitely more environmentally friendly than a golf-course-green-lawn, but it does seem like there must be better options.

I'm confused as to what the little wall is as well. Is it a BBQ? Anti-zombie barricade? Seems to me the plants look a little sad only because they're recently planted - probably in a few weeks they will fill out a little and really improve the look.

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS!!!

Love the idea here! We should all be xeriscaping and using native plants.

Depending upon the years that the owners have been gardening, this is great:)

Trees and shrubs don't grow overnight. They need time to fill in. Reading and visiting local nurseries and arboritums take time, but eventually make one feel at home with native plants.

Good luck--a garden is never truly finished, but is a labor of love; an evolution mirroring the skill level and learning of its people.

I'm hoping they fill this up with native plants. It looks dead... no plants, no birds, no insects... A biologist's worst nightmare. Sigh.

Ditto the thoughts of needed xeriscaping and native plants. I'm guessing that the lack of plants of any sort probably increases the ambient temp outside the house. In Phoenix, that isn't a good thing!

Do they have a lot of shootings in the area? because this hardscape element looks like a shelter.

Most succulents divide easily, and take well from cuttings. Sedum and semperviviums are absolutely champions at this.

It is a budget option to buy, say, 10 1 gallon pots and split and take cuttings of them to quadruple their numbers in a year. It probably is no more expensive than that utterly baffling new wall.

That's without trying to raise anything from seed, or asking any friends/neighbours for cuttings.

And it wouldn't look like a moonscape.

A mixture of succulents, cacti, and mediterranean herbs would have been my pick. And honestly no harder to take care of than weeding gravel.

I think most people in AZ know they can have lawn or a bare gravel industrial-looking front. This doesn't really do much to advertise the fact you *don't* have to choose between "cool-feeling, cool looking" but ultimately impractical and wasteful grass and Mad Max.

So, as the original post asked: yes, I am a fan of the grass-free look. But not, particularly, THIS grass-free look.

What dovie-ann said.

You don't need plants (even native ones!) for visual interest! Some large, nicely place rocks would do wonders for making the lawn look less forlorn. At the very least, a small brick or rock lining around the plants you did decide to use will make them look far more intentional and less, er, weedy.

I totally love that you were willing to step outside the must-have-lawn box, but I think one more step further will really make is shine, and maybe even make other people jealous enough to do away with their water-eating lawns too! :)

I feel it's just too bare although it is definitely an improvement on the before. We are planning on xeriscaping our yard sometime in the next year, because I'm tired of watching my husband pour money onto the grass (there's two-thirds of our water bill in summer). He keeps insisting that St. Augustine will not grow back readily if it dies since it is a creeping grass. I wouldn't miss it to be honest, I hate St. Augustine. It's too crunchy.

We're still going to leave some grass, just not as much, and the rest will be native drought-resistant plants and maybe some perennial herbs. Be water-wise doesn't have to mean being grass-less. The problem is most people don't know how to properly water their lawns for their type of grass or climate, or the proper length to keep it trimmed to, and end up over-watering to keep it alive.

Poor design for a xeric landscape.

This is a case where the after is as bad as the before. It looks like they are getting ready for some sort of show down with the law, with that weird wall in the front. Just awful.

This looks like something my mother would design - lots of straight lines of hardscape and landscape. No angles other than 90 or 180 and no curves in her life either :-). Surely some gardening design book would have assisted in eliminating all that hard, hot squareness. And, please, no cacti. That stuff is invasive and dangerous. Shudder.

My first thought when I saw the pics was "Hmm, that looks like Arizona!"

I too live in AZ, and all I have to say is you Negative Nancy's have OBVIOUSLY never lived in Arizona.

The succulents they have planted near the walkway will get wide and pretty tall, the ones in my neighborhood are at least 5 feet tall. The Aloe plants in front will fill out nicely, they get big. REALLY big. And I can't really see what's planted next to the house, but I'm sure in a few years it's going to get big too!

I think you guys did a great job. If you want to fill it out a little more, why not use a few big rocks. I would also add a red "Bird of Paradise" bush... but that's because they're my favorite :)

@HeraHere- It's Arizona. If you don't have cactus you're doing it wrong.

I think the house has great lines, and looks great in the "after" picture. When I read "rockscape," I expected something more artistic though, LOL! This looks like my parking strip. AND, cleaning said parking strip requires a leaf blower (the ONLY place I use one, on an acre of property!) and also, weeds do pop through and it's very hard to remove them from the sharp gravel so I end up spraying, which is definitely not good for the environment.

Looks forlorn, needs some huge boulder type rocks artistically laid out. And what is that awful wall ?

I am from Arizona and think that this yard after looks fantastic!
@peglegparadiddle is right on the money.
If you live in the desert embrace it, and I think this house is doing that with the landscaping choices.

Well, I like it. And here's why. It's Arizona. I've visited people there who try to bring in every water thirsty plant they could find into their landscape ideas no matter how impractical it might be. They end up using way too much water! This is not just practical but it looks very cost efficient for the long run.

Great job!