Allow your mind to picture a lovely seating area in an island oasis in the middle of what is now your lawn. Let the image contain a small ornamental tree, a Mexican plum or Japanese maple for instance, along with groupings of perennials and a bench or pair of chairs. Then think of deepening each bed along the edges of your lawn so they too can contain small ornamental trees and occasional benches among your perennials. Consider how interesting your back yard could be with one corner turned into a hidden seating area with a small fountain and a stacked rock bench. Just start small –

We have all heard how important it is to rein in our water consumption, and we know that lawn watering is the biggest offender. Texas offers various rebate programs, and you can find out more at saveDallaswater.com.  In your own garden there are lots of ways to cut back on water use.  What worked for me was to simply address one area at a time. In some areas I created “rooms” in the garden, each with its own purpose and personality. By taking this approach, I have turned a giant rectangle of water-hogging lawn into an attractive garden filled with pathways and interesting spaces and seating areas.

Even before I was aware that lawns are responsible for a major percentage of water usage, and in most cases considerably more than for other plants, I was

forced to begin hardscaping my back yard because in some areas the shade prevented grass from growing successfully. The first place I decreased the lawn was adjacent to a patio of brick pavers that was outside my back door when I bought the house. I expanded the coverage in all directions, and continued with little brick walkways leading from the patio to other areas. The patio is flanked by four-foot beds of ground cover to further decrease the lawn.

A visit to a rock yard may generate some ideas about paving materials to incorporate; however, I learned from a costly mistake that if you are going to install a patio, it is best to let the installer advise about the materials. I bought some flagstone and had it delivered, and only later learned it was not as thick or as smooth as it should have been for the job I had in mind. I found a gentleman who was experienced in hardscape surfaces, and he did a very nice job of installing the flagstone.

And bumpy surface notwithstanding, I have been very happy with the 12’ by 16’ patio, which abuts the shed on one side, thus providing a wall to emphasize the “room”. The space is furnished with four patio chairs and a little outdoor coffee table along with a basin fountain which provides the soothing sound of trickling water. This area is decorated much as an indoor room would be, with furniture and various container plants, and an outdoor rug would add even more pizzazz. The curved outside edge is lined with a short boxwood hedge, which gives the room a sense of enclosure.

Another significant reduction of lawn was achieved by deepening the perennial beds along the back and side fences. My back perennial beds are as deep as fifteen feet in places, and never shallower than eight

That island has since been expanded on both ends and now fills much of my back yard. It includes two large trees and a small one, a colorful mosaic birdbath, plus a bench and two chairs. The north end contains a floor of pea gravel with large flagstones here and there and that area extends to dual walkways with a large bed of shade loving Aguga between them. The entire island is now about 10 feet wide at its narrow end, and at least thirty feet long. Funny enough, my lawn mowing bill has not decreased, even though the back lawn has been reduced by two thirds. Oh well. The sprinkler heads were capped off in the large area of flagstone and pea gravel as they were in the first garden room described above. The plants in my perennial beds require much less water than a lawn, and except for the hottest months of the summer, I can leave the sprinklers off in the back yard, and just hand water where needed.