Xeriscape Design Part 1: Hardscape and Foundation Planting

A garden's underlying foundation is often the source of its beauty. Learn how to use hardscaping to your advantage.

Dianthus pinifolius
Item # 41506 		Dianthus pinifolius
Pineleaf Garden Pink

each $7.99
3 to 6 plants $7.79
7 or more $7.59
Cercocarpus ledifolius
Item # 34340 		Cercocarpus ledifolius
Curl-Leaf or Evergreen Mahogany

each $7.99
3 to 6 plants $7.79
7 or more $7.59
Mahonia haematocarpa
Item # 69435 		Mahonia haematocarpa
Red Berry Mahonia

each $7.99
3 to 6 plants $7.79
7 or more $7.59
  • Topic: Xeriscaping
  • Author: Mary Ann Walz
  • Keywords: hardscape, walls, pathways, landscape, stone, Xeriscape Design Part I: Hardscape and Foundation Planting, Xeriscape Design Part I: Hardscape and Foundation Planting, Pests, xeric, xeriscaping, xeriscapes
  • Date: December 2002

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Planning and designing a Xeriscape garden takes more thought than just the selection of drought resistant plants. These particular gardens have acquired quite a following in the past few years, especially due to our current drought. But whether you’re planning and working with the Principles of Xeriscape Gardening or not, the same elements of landscaping need to be considered such as analyzing the site for sun exposure and weather patterns, determining how the area will be used, and determining what kind of soil you have and how it might need to be amended.

It’s tempting to just dig in and start planting when you want a new garden. But before any of the actual planting is undertaken, any good landscape design needs to start with hardscaping—those permanent underlying basics like retaining walls, pathways, raised beds, and garden walls. A good garden often is the result of lots of forethought.

During the winter, I like to look at the designs of landscapes because the bare bones are clearly visible. Not are only the skeletons of deciduous trees and brushes exposed, but the hardscape is unmistakably discernible. It’s also the hardscape that greatly impacts how well a landscape plan works. It can help define traffic patterns, separate areas in the garden, and add visual interest—especially in the winter months and early spring before herbaceous plants reach mature size. Hardscape elements typically are put in place in the early stages of a landscape installation and must be carefully considered because they are often expensive and frequently more difficult to remove. So it’s best to avoid making any mistakes.

In my garden, the hardscape material of choice is stone. It’s a natural material that complements plants, lasts forever, and is intrinsically very beautiful. I have used it to fashion short retaining walls, build raised beds, line pathways, pave a patio area, and lay stepping-stones. I like to have variation in my stonescaping but also work with a theme that unifies the garden into a cohesive whole.

For example, in my front yard I have a retaining wall that has stones stair-stepped up a slope. I then used the same kind of stone to create two raised beds where the stones are dry stacked on top of each other. There are two different stacking methods but they use same kind of stone. I then used the same stone to edge a pathway and patio that is paved with flagstone. The flagstone is the same as the flooring in my house so there is a nice transition from indoors to outdoors.

As an accent, I placed boulders in the planting beds so they appear as rock outcroppings. They are a totally different shape than the stacked stones but all have similarly colored lichens. When placing boulders, I like to have them partially buried so they appear more natural.

Great examples of stonework show up all over. Drive around your city, visit public gardens, look at gardening magazines, and visit our demonstration gardens if you’re in Santa Fe. Stone is a material that easily lends itself to do-it-yourself projects. The Art and Craft of Stonescaping by David Reed is recommended reading if you’d like to try a stone project but have little or no experience. Begin with a reasonably sized project so you can be assured of success. Also, make sure you get enough stone or can obtain more of the same kind and size if you run out. Nothing looks worse than a stone project started with one type of stone and completed with a different kind.

Wood is another nice material for hardscape projects. It is often used for decks, fences, edging pathways or beds, and for building gazebos, arbors and trellises. Unusual roots or pieces of wood can often be found and used as naturalistic sculptures in the garden.

Once your hardscape is in place, you can then plant the trees and shrubs. Trees should be selected carefully, keeping in mind their mature size. Some trees and shrubs have yearlong interest. Conifers are the obvious choice for multi-season interest but think, too, about the branching structure of deciduous trees, color of bark, or fruit that stays on through the winter. Dwarf conifers, both upright and prostrate, are nice in perennial beds, lending textural differences and providing winter color. Drought tolerant broadleaf evergreens such as Cercocarpus ledifolius (Curl Leaf Mountain Mahogany), Artemisia tridentata (Big Sage), Mahonia trifoliolata (Algerita) and Mahonia haematocarpa are other possibilities.

As a general rule, it will be possible to select drought tolerant trees and shrubs for your Xeriscape design. If, however, you must have a species that requires more water, be sure to place it in a special microclimate where this will be possible or create one like a shallow dip in the landscape. I had to have a red twigged dogwood in my perennial border so I used Broadleaf P-4, which are moisture holding crystals, and placed the tree near a boulder, and lowered the soil level a little so its roots would stay a little more moist. It’s possible to do a little mix and match with Xeric and higher water use plants but you must be a somewhat creative to accommodate the water requirements.

After you have successfully designed the hardscape features and have installed the trees and shrubs, you have create the bones of a landscape. The icing on the cake will be the perennials and bulbs that provide color and additional texture to your design. You might even fit in some garden ornaments to add further appeal. And make sure you have some garden furniture, too, so you can sit down and enjoy the view.

Next time in Part II, I will discuss a few of the principles behind Xeriscape gardens and the different ways plants can be used to enhance the basic garden design.