Removing Your Lawn in Denver? Please Don’t Replace It With a Moonscape
When I saw the recent Denver7 story about homeowners responding to Denver’s lawn watering restrictions by removing turf, my first reaction was positive. We absolutely should be having a serious conversation about how much water we use on traditional lawns, especially here along the Front Range. There are thousands of square feet of grass in Denver and Boulder that are expensive to maintain, difficult to keep green, rarely used, and often completely unnecessary. Rethinking those lawns makes sense.
But then I looked at what was replacing some of that turf, and that is where the conversation became more complicated.
Too often, the solution to a thirsty lawn seems to be a layer of rock, a few shrubs, perhaps some landscape fabric underneath it all, and the assumption that the job is finished. The grass is gone, so the landscape must now be drought tolerant. Technically, it may use less irrigation. But there is a big difference between using less water and creating a thoughtful water-wise landscape.
That difference matters.
If we are going to remove lawns across Denver, Boulder, and the rest of the Front Range, we have an incredible opportunity in front of us. We can create landscapes that use less water while also bringing more beauty, habitat, shade, texture, seasonal interest, and life into our neighborhoods. Or we can replace one monoculture with another and turn green lawns into expanses of stone.
I know which future I would rather see.
Turf Removal Should Be the Beginning, Not the End
When homeowners start thinking about turf removal, the conversation often begins with what they want to take away. They want to stop mowing. They want to cut the water bill. They are tired of fighting brown spots. They no longer want to irrigate a front lawn that nobody walks on. These are all reasonable motivations, but they focus almost entirely on removal.
A better landscape starts by asking what should come next.
Imagine taking out a large front lawn in Denver. Suddenly, you have a blank canvas where there used to be a flat green rectangle. That space could become almost anything. It could become a layered garden of ornamental grasses, flowering perennials, shrubs, groundcovers, and a small shade tree. It could become a pollinator garden. It could include a gravel path, a seating area, a few carefully placed boulders, or a small area of turf where turf still serves a purpose.
That is what makes lawn removal exciting. The real opportunity is not simply to eliminate grass. It is to create a landscape that is better suited to Colorado.
A thoughtfully designed drought-tolerant garden can still feel lush. It can still feel cool, inviting, and alive. It can still provide the things many homeowners enjoy about a traditional landscape without demanding the same amount of water.
Somewhere Along the Way, Xeriscape Became “A Lot of Rock”
One of the biggest misconceptions in Colorado landscaping is that xeriscape means rock. People hear the word and immediately picture gravel yards with a few widely spaced shrubs.
That is not what xeriscape was supposed to mean.
Xeriscape is about using water intelligently. It involves appropriate plant selection, thoughtful irrigation, healthy soil, mulch, hydrozoning, and reducing high-water turf where it does not make sense. Plants are not something that need to be removed from a xeriscape. Plants are one of the most important parts of it.
In fact, one of the most exciting things about landscaping in Colorado is how many beautiful plants thrive here with relatively little supplemental water once they are established.
We have penstemons, agastaches, salvias, yarrows, ornamental grasses, rabbitbrush, Apache (canyon) plume, serviceberry, catmint, blue grama, little bluestem, and many other plants that can bring color and texture to a lower-water landscape. There are native plants, regionally adapted plants, and plants from other dry climates that can perform beautifully here when they are placed correctly.
The goal should not be to remove vegetation from the landscape. The goal should be to use the right vegetation.
That is a very different philosophy.
Picture Two Denver Houses in July
To understand why this matters, picture two houses on the same Denver street in the middle of July.
Both homeowners removed most of their front lawns. Both wanted to use less water. Both started with roughly the same amount of space.
The first yard is mostly rock. There are a few shrubs scattered through it, but most of the ground is exposed stone. By midafternoon, the sun has been hitting that rock for hours. The landscape feels hard, bright, and empty. There is little shade and very little movement. There are not many flowers, not much habitat, and not much reason to linger in the space.
Now look at the house next door.
That homeowner also removed the majority of the turf, but instead of simply covering the space, they designed it. A small tree shades part of the front walk. Ornamental grasses move in the breeze. Flowering perennials bring color throughout the season. Groundcovers soften the spaces between larger plants. Shrubs provide structure and help connect the house to the landscape. A gravel path winds through the planting, and perhaps there is a small seating area near the porch.
That second yard can still be drought tolerant. It can still use significantly less water than the original lawn. But it feels completely different.
It feels like a place.
That is the difference between turf removal and landscape design.
Plants Are Not the Problem
One of the strangest things about the current lawn-removal conversation is the implication that water conservation requires us to remove as much living material as possible.
It does not.
Plants perform important work in a landscape. Trees create shade. Shrubs create structure and habitat. Perennials support pollinators. Groundcovers protect the soil. Grasses add movement and help soften hard edges. Plants also change through the seasons, giving a landscape a sense of time and place.
A pile of rock cannot do those things.
This is especially important in urban areas like Denver and Boulder, where our landscapes are part of the broader environment of the neighborhood. A front yard is not just something the homeowner sees. It affects the sidewalk, the street, the view from neighboring houses, and the overall character of the block.
Imagine an entire neighborhood gradually replacing lawns with rock. Now imagine that same neighborhood replacing unnecessary turf with shade trees, native grasses, flowering perennials, and drought-tolerant shrubs.
Both neighborhoods may use less water than they did before.
But only one becomes more beautiful and more ecologically interesting in the process.
Rock Has a Place. It Just Shouldn’t Be the Whole Landscape.
None of this means rock is bad.
We use rock in landscapes all the time. Gravel can create beautiful pathways and patios. Boulders can add structure and help connect a design to the natural character of Colorado. Rock mulch can be appropriate in certain planting situations. Dry creek beds can help manage drainage and create visual interest.
The problem comes when rock stops being one element in the landscape and becomes the landscape itself.
That is when we start creating the moonscapes.
A good garden needs balance. It needs hardscape and softscape. It needs structure and movement. It needs open space and planted space. It needs enough repetition to feel cohesive and enough variation to feel interesting.
If the only design decision is “remove grass and add rock,” we are missing nearly all of that.
Rock Is Not Maintenance-Free Either
Another reason homeowners gravitate toward rock is the idea that it eliminates maintenance. The thinking is understandable. Grass requires mowing, edging, fertilizing, aerating, irrigation, and constant attention during hot weather. Rock appears to offer an escape from all of that.
Unfortunately, rock landscapes are not maintenance-free.
Dust and organic debris settle into the stone. Weed seeds blow in. Leaves accumulate. Landscape fabric begins to fail. Rock migrates into sidewalks and planting beds. Irrigation lines become difficult to repair. Over time, gravel can become compacted and dirty.
And if someone eventually decides they want more plants, removing all that rock can become a major project.
A planted landscape certainly requires maintenance too, but there is an important difference: a well-designed planted landscape often improves as it matures.
Trees begin to cast shade. Shrubs fill out. Grasses become fuller. Perennials knit together. Groundcovers spread. A garden that looks relatively young and open in its first year can become rich and layered after several seasons.
You are not just maintaining it. You are watching it become something.
We Should Be More Thoughtful About the Plants We Use, Too
Of course, simply adding plants does not automatically make a design good.
This is where plant selection becomes important.
Barberry is a good example of a plant that is frequently used because it is tough, familiar, and relatively easy to source. But “tough” should not be the only qualification for a plant in a drought-tolerant landscape.
When we select plants, we should be asking more questions. What does this plant contribute? Does it flower? Does it provide food or habitat for wildlife? Does it have interesting texture? Does it change color in fall? Does it look good in winter? Is it the right mature size for the space? Does it relate to the architecture of the house? Does it work with the plants around it?
Good design is not simply choosing a list of plants that survive drought.
It is creating a composition.
The best landscapes have layers. Trees form the upper structure. Shrubs create mass and screening. Perennials bring seasonal color. Grasses provide movement. Groundcovers fill gaps and soften the ground plane. Hardscape gives people a way to move through and enjoy the space.
When these elements work together, the landscape feels intentional.
That is a completely different experience from placing a few isolated shrubs in a field of stone.
Colorado Landscapes Can Be Beautiful Because of Our Climate, Not in Spite of It
For years, the traditional American lawn was treated as the default landscape. A house was built, turf was installed from the sidewalk to the foundation, a few shrubs were planted near the front door, and the landscape was considered complete.
But Colorado gives us an opportunity to do something much more interesting.
We live in a climate with intense sun, dramatic seasons, cold winters, dry air, and limited water. Instead of fighting those conditions, we can design landscapes that respond to them.
A Colorado garden can have the softness of grasses, the bright flowers of drought-tolerant perennials, the silver foliage of plants adapted to hot sun, the structure of native shrubs, and the shade of carefully placed trees. It can change dramatically from spring through winter.
That kind of landscape has character.
It looks like it belongs here.
And it does not need to look like Arizona to conserve water.
You Do Not Have to Remove Every Square Foot of Grass
Another misconception worth correcting is that a water-wise landscape has to eliminate turf completely.
It does not.
There are places where lawn makes perfect sense.
If your children play soccer in the backyard, keep some grass. If your dog needs an open area, keep some grass. If you actually use a lawn for picnics, games, or gatherings, that turf is serving a purpose.
The problem is not necessarily grass itself.
The problem is grass that exists only because nobody thought to put anything else there.
Think about all the narrow strips of turf between sidewalks and streets, the steep slopes that are difficult to irrigate, the huge front lawns that are viewed but never used, or the patches of grass squeezed between driveways and fences.
Those are often excellent places to begin a turf-removal project.
You do not need to turn the entire property upside down at once.
Sometimes the smartest approach is simply to reduce the amount of turf and make the rest of the landscape more interesting.
Start With the Life You Want to Have Outside
When people ask us about lawn replacement in Denver or Boulder, I think the most important question is not “How much turf can we remove?”
It is “How do you want to use this space?”
Maybe you want a front patio where you can sit in the evening.
Maybe you want more privacy from the street.
Maybe you want flowers outside your kitchen window.
Maybe you want hummingbirds.
Maybe you want a place where children can wander through plants and discover insects.
Maybe you want a modern, architectural garden with grasses, large stones, and a limited plant palette.
Maybe you want something that feels loose, colorful, and almost meadow-like.
Once you answer that question, the lawn becomes just one part of the design problem.
You may discover that the real goal is not turf removal at all.
The real goal is to create a better outdoor space.
Denver and Boulder Have a Huge Opportunity Right Now
The conversation around outdoor water use is not going away. If anything, more homeowners will be thinking about how much lawn they really need and what they could use instead.
That is a good thing.
But this moment is bigger than water conservation.
We have an opportunity to change what residential landscapes look like across the Front Range.
We can create neighborhoods with more drought-tolerant trees, more native and adapted plants, more pollinator habitat, more shade, more seasonal color, and more gardens that actually reflect where we live.
Or we can cover thousands of front yards in rock.
I hope we choose the first option.
Because when I think about the future of Denver and Boulder landscapes, I do not picture endless green lawns. Those landscapes often do not make sense anymore.
But I do not picture endless gravel either.
I picture gardens.
I picture less turf, but more diversity. Less irrigation, but more thoughtful planting. More shade. More movement. More flowers. More places for birds and bees. More landscapes that look beautiful not because they ignore Colorado’s climate, but because they were designed for it.
So yes, remove the lawn that is not serving a purpose.
Use less water.
Rethink the traditional front yard.
But do not stop when the grass is gone.
That empty space is not something you need to cover.
It is something you get to create.
And that is where the real story of turf removal begins.
