Southwestern Curb Appeal
Sage Design Studios integrated terraces and drought-conserving plants into the front and back yard designs to help this Southwestern home conserve water.

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Drought Resistant Plant and Gabion Wall in Modern Southwestern Yard
This eco-friendly Southwestern style landscaping features modern terraced steps to lead to the home's front door. The plants featured in this garden are drought resistant to stand up to the extreme temperatures of this home's desert location. Other aspects of this design include sustainable materials such as reclaimed stone for the gabion wall and the stone that requires no watering.
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Sage Design Studios
Desert Inspired Southwestern Landscape
This modern, Southwestern style home gets a front yard makeover. The homeowners are concerned with water conservation in the summer months, so the designers used their desert surroundings to inspire their design. Because of the dry soil, erosion is always a worry, so a gabion wall was installed in the back of yard to help stave off any erosion issues. Flowerbeds were then added around the steps leading to the front door. Those beds were filled with desert plants that can easily handle the lack of water they will receive in the summer months. Then, landscapers added stones instead of mulch or grass to fill in the beds and in between the driveway and the stairs to keep down the reliance on water and to give the design a desert feel.
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Sage Design Studios
Reclaimed Materials and Desert Plants Landscape This Southwestern Style Home
The concern for this design was sustainability, so to landscape the exterior of the house, the designers used mostly reclaimed materials, like the stones that make up the gabion wall, and plants that wouldn't require much water, such as the cactus.
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Gabion Wall to Hold Off Erosion and Weather Resistant Plants in Desert Climates
This modern, Southwestern style home gets the perfect desert landscape. A gabion wall stands at the back of the yard, next to the foundation of the house to help curb erosion. Small flowerbeds then cascade down the yard along the steps. These beds contain durable plants that can survive the summer heat in this desert climate without much water. Instead of mulch in these beds, the beds are filled with rock to keep from having to grow grass that would require lots of water during the summer months. This way, the home's front yard is completely sustainable.
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Sage Design Studios
Desert Plants and Gravel in Water Conscious Yard
The water conscious homeowners of this modern, Southwestern home boasts drought friendly plants that can easily withstand the dry heat of the summer months. Instead of planting grass that will need to be watered, the homeowners have used gravel to protect the plants' roots from the heat.
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Sage Design Studios
Gabion Wall and Drought Resistant Plants with Elegant Gray Stones in Southwestern Style Landscape
This gabion wall was installed in the back of the garden to help prevent erosion in the dry climate. The cacti and the yucca plants give the wall a pop of color, while the grey stones in the flower beds add an elegant touch to this desert landscape.
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Sage Design Studios
Drought Resistant Trees and Plants in Water Conscious Backyard
In the backyard, some height is added with a tree, which is drought resistant, just like the rest of the plants that have been planted in this yard. Throughout the backyard, different colored stones have been used to help add some color and distinction to the space without having to plant more plants or grass.
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Sage Design Studios
Southwestern Style Exterior
The exterior of this home draws its inspiration from the Southwestern tradition. Desert plants are found lining the entrance to this stark-white, moern oasis.
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Sage Design Studios
Gazing Pool and Drought Resistant Plants in Water Conscious Backyard
These homeowners have continued their water-conscious design into the backyard. Here, they have also replaced the grass with gravel, and the plants they have used can withstand the drought. The gazing pool in the yard is the perfect place to relax on a warm day, but will not need constant refilling.
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Sage Design Studios
Gravel Replaces Grass in Water Conserving Yard
This modern Southwestern style home is eco-friendly-something the homeowners are concerned about. The drought resistant plants will hold up in the harsh desert climates, and instead of grass, the homeowners have used gravel and other rocks to cut down on their water consumption.
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Sage Design Studios
Yucca and Cactus Plants in Front of Gabion Wall in Water Conscious Landscape Design
The yucca plants in this yard have their own planter box to make the spaces for each type of plants defined. Behind the yucca, there are cacti lining the gabion wall. Each of these species of plant are drought resistant, so they will not need much water in the coming summer heat.
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Sage Design Studios
Gabion Wall and Drought Friendly Plants in Southwester Landscape Design
These homeowners' main concern is that the exterior of their home be very drought friendly, so they used a gabion wall, made of reclaimed materials, to add to the ambiance of their desert oasis. The plants featured in this design are drought resistant and can go for quite a time without a drop of water. Some of the plants include: cactus, agave and yucca.
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Sage Design Studios
Long Contemplation Pool Separates Upper and Lower Patio Levels
To the side of this modern, Southwestern style home, rests a long, slender contemplation pool. This pool is lined by drought resistant plants, and stylishly separates the upper level from the lower patio.
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Sage Design Studios
Brown Gabion Wall Accentuates the Greenness of the Plants
The gabion wall that has been added to this garden gives it extra dimension and makes the plants stand out against the natural brown.
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Sage Design Studios
Cactus Plants Give Modern Home Exterior a Pop of Color
The homeowners did not forget the side yard when they did their renovations. The contemplation pool is lined with cactus plants-a drought resistant plant that will thrive in the hot summer months. The green of the cactus plant gives a pop of color to the grey stone of the house, while the dark gray stones that rest around the cactus plants give the space an elegant look.
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Sage Design Studios
Terraced Steps Add Height to Landscape Design
To add dimension to this front yard, the homeowners have used their steps to give the space height. Instead of adding plants of varying heights that could obstruct a direct view of the house, the homeowners have terraced their steps, and also their flowerbeds, to give their drought friendly front lawn a little extra pizzaz.
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Sage Design Studios
Natural Hues Bring the Desert Landscape to Life in Southwestern Front Yard
The designers of this beautiful Southwestern style landscape use natural colors to make the space standout. The brown hues of the rocks in the gabion wall and the tile accent steps compliment that natural green hues of the desert plants that surround them, making the landscape of this house match the natural landscape of the land that surrounds it.
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Sage Design Studios

Photo By: Jonathan Spears, ASLA