Lawn Cover Up.  Once again we think it may be a good time to re-think your lawn and perhaps convert part of it with attractive, water-wise shrubs as ground covers.

For example, the Acacia redolens 'Desert Carpet' endures drought, heat, poor soil and still produces dazzlingly bright yellow flowers in Spring.  A single plant grows to 2 feet tall and 12 feet wide.

Another utterly reliable choice is Lantana, which blooms for months on end in summer in a wide range of colors, from bright yellow to cerise pink to deep purple.  Imagine your front yard transformed into a field of brilliant hot pink or blazing red flowers!  One Lantana will grow to 2 feet tall and 3 to 6 feet wide.  Trim it back in mid-winter.

Yet a third choice is the Dalea greggii, the evergreen Trailing Indigo Bush.  This Southwestern native grows in a mound-shape to 1 1/2 feet tall and spreads to 6 feet wide.  In Spring you can count on clusters of purple flowers (in a color which gives the plant its common name: 'Indigo Bush') among the fine green foliage.  It takes blistering heat and needs very little water.

Another suggestion is the Eriogononum fasciculatum polifolium -- wheww, what a botanic name!! -- also known as Arizona Buckwheat.  The 1 to 2 foot tall 'Theodore Payne' hybrid is good for erosion control on slopes.  It spreads to 4 feet wide and blooms from Spring to Autumn with pink or white flower clusters.

For a full page with photos of a front yard that has been replaced with gorgeous flowering perennials, go here.