When planning changes to your landscape, consider incorporating designs that prioritize sustainability and support local ecosystems. Selecting pollinator-friendly plants helps attract bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects to your garden, ensuring healthy pollination and vibrant growth throughout the seasons. Opting for low-water plants not only conserves water but also reduces maintenance needs, making your landscape more resilient during dry periods.
PlantSelect® has created several free Waterwise Landscape Designs.
https://plantselect.org/design/downloadable-designs/
Northern Water provides six sustainable landscape design templates. These detailed templates feature plants that are generally easy to find.
https://www.northernwater.org/Home/Page/8ddb6301-336d-4109-a236-45b1c778931f
Gardens in a Box—Resource Central, a Boulder County organization, sells plants to assist homeowners in creating specific garden types. Your garden design is included with your plant order.
https://resourcecentral.org/gardens/shop/
Front Range Wild Ones encourages planting native “Coloradoscapes” and Rain Gardens.
https://frontrange.wildones.org/
https://frontrange.wildones.org/rain-gardens/
The Xerces Society of Colorado promotes the use of plants and shrubs that attract beneficial insects, birds, and other pollinators.
https://xerces.org/taxonomy/term/104
CSU Extension provides numerous educational fact sheets. We recommend these:
Attracting Butterflies to the Garden
https://extension.colostate.edu/resource/attracting-butterflies-to-the-garden/
Attracting Native Bees to Your Landscape
https://extension.colostate.edu/resource/attracting-native-bees-to-your-landscape/
Creating a Pollinator Habitat
https://extension.colostate.edu/resource/creating-pollinator-habitat/
Native Plants
https://extension.colostate.edu/resource/native-plants/
Native Shrubs for Colorado Landscapes
https://extension.colostate.edu/resource/native-shrubs-for-colorado-landscapes/
Native Grasses for Use in Colorado Landscapes
https://extension.colostate.edu/resource/native-grasses-for-use-in-colorado-landscapes/
Native Herbaceous Perennials for Colorado Landscapes
https://extension.colostate.edu/resource/native-herbaceous-perennials-for-colorado-landscapes/
Water-Wise Landscape Design: Steps
https://extension.colostate.edu/resource/water-wise-landscape-design-steps/
Xeriscaping: Ground Cover Plants
https://extension.colostate.edu/resource/xeriscaping-ground-cover-plants/
Xeriscaping: Retrofit Your Yard
https://extension.colostate.edu/resource/xeriscaping-ground-cover-plants/
Xeriscaping: Trees and Shrubs
https://extension.colostate.edu/resource/xeriscaping-trees-and-shrubs/