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Short answer: In Denver, convert the turf you never walk on to xeriscape and keep the grass you actually use. With only about 14 to 15 inches of precipitation a year, a small, purposeful lawn plus water-wise planting beats both wall-to-wall turf and wall-to-wall gravel. Most homeowners end up keeping a third to half of their lawn.
The straight answer: convert the turf you never set foot on, keep the turf you actually use. In Denver’s climate, a small, purposeful lawn plus water-wise landscaping beats both a wall-to-wall lawn and a wall-to-wall gravel yard. Here’s how to draw that line on your own property.
Why does a lawn need so much irrigation in Denver?
Denver gets roughly 14 to 15 inches of precipitation in a typical year, and Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue want far more moisture than that. The gap comes out of your tap all summer. It’s simply the arithmetic of growing a cool-season plant in a semi-arid place, which is why xeriscape was practically invented here.
Denver gets roughly 14 to 15 inches of precipitation in a typical year. Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue, the cool-season grasses that make up nearly every lawn here, want far more moisture than the sky delivers, so the gap comes out of your tap all summer. That’s not a moral failing of turf, it’s just the arithmetic of growing a cool-season plant in a semi-arid place.
Denver Water’s summer watering rules shape when and how that irrigation happens, and specifics shift with conditions, so treat the posted schedule as the source of truth and check Denver Water before setting your controller. We keep a plain-English rundown on our Denver watering rules page.
Xeriscape, meanwhile, was practically invented for this city, and the term itself came out of the Denver water-conservation world decades ago. This is one of the best-supported places in the country to do it, with mature plant palettes, experienced installers, and neighbors who won’t blink at a buffalo grass and penstemon front yard.
What does turf still do better than xeriscape?
Grass is still the only surface you really live on: kids’ games, dogs and bare feet don’t work on crusher fines. Turf also stays cooler than rock mulch, which reflects heat at a south-facing house all afternoon. If you keep lawn, tall fescue roots deeper and needs less frequent irrigation, while bluegrass fills its own bare spots.
Nothing replaces grass as a surface you live on. Kids’ games, dogs, bare feet on a July evening, none of that works on crusher fines. Turf also stays meaningfully cooler than rock mulch. A south-facing gravel expanse reflects heat at your house all afternoon, while a lawn in the same spot cools it.
Grass type matters if you keep turf. Colorado State University Extension notes that turf-type tall fescue roots deeper than Kentucky bluegrass and can typically get by with less frequent irrigation once established, which makes fescue worth a look for anyone keeping lawn but trimming the water bill. Bluegrass counters with self-repair. It spreads by rhizomes and fills its own bare spots, which fescue can’t do.
What does xeriscape do better than a lawn in Denver?
Water first. Once plants establish over the first season or two, a well-designed xeriscape runs on a fraction of a bluegrass lawn’s irrigation. Upkeep changes too: no weekly mowing, fall aeration or spring fertilizer, just seasonal pruning, occasional weeding and mulch top-ups. It isn’t zero work, though. A neglected xeriscape becomes a weed lot fast.
The obvious win is water. A properly designed xeriscape, once its plants establish over the first season or two, runs on a fraction of the irrigation a bluegrass lawn demands, and some mature native plantings need little beyond what falls from the sky in a normal year. The less obvious win is maintenance rhythm. No weekly mowing, no fall aeration, no spring fertilizer run. Xeriscape maintenance is seasonal pruning, occasional weeding, and mulch top-ups.
Two honest caveats. First, xeriscape is not zero work, and a neglected one turns into a weed lot faster than a neglected lawn turns shaggy. Second, the conversion itself is a real project: removing turf, amending soil, hardscape, plants, mulch, and usually retrofitting irrigation zones to drip. Budget ranges for all of that live in our Denver xeriscaping cost guide, so this article stays out of the numbers.
Which parts of a Denver yard should stay lawn and which should convert?
Sort every zone into used or unused. The strip between sidewalk and street, narrow side yards and sloped corners are conversion candidates almost every time, and the back lawn where the dog runs stays grass. South and west faces suit xeriscape, while north-facing and tree-shaded areas hold turf on less water. Most homeowners keep a third to half.
Walk the property and sort every zone into used or unused. The strip between sidewalk and street, the narrow side yard, the sloped corner the mower hates, those are conversion candidates almost every time. The back lawn where the dog runs stays grass.
Then match effort to exposure. South and west faces are brutal on cool-season turf here and are where xeriscape plants shine. North-facing and tree-shaded areas hold turf with less water, so grass there is cheaper to keep.
Done this way, most Denver homeowners end up keeping somewhere between a third and half of their original turf and barely missing the rest. Water use drops, weekends open up, and the yard still has a lawn where a lawn makes sense.
If you’d like a zone map drawn for your own yard, the team at Denver Pro Landscape offers free estimates and will walk the property with you.
Related reading: Denver Sod Vs Seed covers the other half of this decision.
FAQ
Is xeriscape just rocks and cactus? No. Good xeriscape leans on adapted perennials, ornamental grasses, shrubs, and trees arranged in water-use zones, with mulch or stone as groundcover rather than the main event. All-gravel yards are the thing xeriscape designers try to talk people out of.
Will converting turf to xeriscape lower my water bill? Almost always, once plants establish, since outdoor irrigation is typically the largest share of a Denver summer bill. The size of the drop depends on how much high-water turf you remove and how the new zones are irrigated.
Does Denver restrict when I can water a lawn? Yes, Denver Water publishes summer watering rules, and the details can change with drought conditions. Check Denver Water’s current schedule before programming your system rather than relying on last year’s rules.