 The following is a production of New Mexico State University. Saving water is a major concern for gardeners in the Southwest. For that reason, many gardeners have opted to replace their water-guzzling gardens and lawns with drought-tolerant plants. But Xeriscapes have specific requirements, especially during the first year of development. Texas master gardener Angie Hanna will show us how to prepare the soil for a Xeriscape. Angie, what's the first thing you do to prepare soil for a Xeriscape? Well, the first thing I like to do is to kill the existing top growth, whether it be grass, weeds, or whatever we have here. In this case, we had Bermuda grass, so we needed to apply something strong, like an herbicide roundup is what we used here. A glyphosate herbicide, right? Exactly. And it's best to let it set for two to three weeks for the best effect. You want to be sure to kill those Bermuda roots. What I like to do is break up the clods and it makes the sand and the compost and topsoil mingle with the rest of the clay soil to get a good mix. So I know where we're going next. We're going to be doing this again after we add the amendments. True, it seems like a lot of work in the beginning, but it really pays off. All the steps after this are easiest, but the next step is putting the sand and we'll work it in with the fork and have it spread down into the clay for better drainage. And so now we're turning the sand in. Now we have to be careful. You're going to know the step that follows this, don't you? But if you just add sand to clay, sometimes you just make a doby. That's right. We want to be sure to put in the next step and that's adding the compost and the topsoil mix. That's very important. And what's in here now? Topsoil and compost. It's a 50-50 mix of compost and topsoil. Okay, so we put it here in the center and spread it out again. Let me get my rake. This is sure working a lot easier now than our first go at it. It's a lot easier to turn once it's been turned. Okay, well that's mixed in pretty well here. Yeah, I think it's looking really good. So what now? Well, the next step is what I like to do is just smooth out the top before we add the final layer of topsoil. Okay. So I'll just bring all this stuff up here, make it in a nice oval-shaped mound. There, that looks pretty good. I think we're ready for the topsoil compost mix for the final top. Okay, will we turn this in? No, we won't be turning this in. This just goes on the top. Uh-huh, I like it better that way. Okay, that looks pretty good. We're almost done. This looks pretty good here, Curtis. We're ready to place the rocks and plant the plant. So we're going to dress it with rocks and then plant. Let's do it. Okay. You have special places you put them? Well, I try to place it according to the character of the rock and the plant that I plan on putting here. That looks like a sedum you're planting. Yes, this is a sedum ruby glow. There's the plant tag. Just carefully take it out of the pot and place it down and just tap the soil around the roots. Now that it's planted, is there anything else today? Well, we just have one final step to do. We need to put a rock mulch around the Xeriscape plant. Mulch helps conserve water and some plants prefer an inorganic mulch. Others will tolerate organic, but if they are tolerant of each, rocks are an excellent mulch to use. That sets it off nicely and that stands out from the environment. Now as I look at it though, this is kind of sparse. This is going to grow in and get bigger, right? Oh, it sure will. Would you like to see a garden that's one, two, and three years old? Yes, I would. Okay, well let's go. Angie, this is a one-year-old plot right here? Yes, I just planted this this spring. Wow, it's not even one-year-old? No, it's just a couple of months old. You know, it's amazing how fast these plants will just pop out and start booming for us. A lot of people are concerned with all the space here and all the mulch showing between plants. Well, that's really not a problem. In fact, as you can see over here, I've already planted things too close together. I'll probably have to shift some either in the fall or the springtime. And the second year is going to look like what? Well, they're going to look a whole lot bigger. Let's take a look at what I have over here. This is really filled in well here. Boy, it sure has. I'm really happy with the way the garden's growing here. And this is one of the most difficult strips there is to garden in the home landscape. That's true. I call this the Hellstrip, the spot between the sidewalk and the street, where it's just a whole lot hotter, all that cement radiating heat. I don't have a sprinkler system, so I was always out here with a hose trying to keep the lawn green. And I decided to tear it out and plant something that provided a lot of visual interest all year long, putting pretty flowers and yet low maintenance. And you've got a third year plot as well. Yes, I do. Would you like to see it? Love to. All right, it's right this way. Well, this looks nice, and it's only three years old. Yes, this is only three years. I'm really happy with the way things turned out here. I did my first zero-escape garden in the back just in case it didn't work, then nobody would ever know about it. But it was such a success, and I was so happy with it, I decided to put it in some of my other drier areas or more difficult areas to garden. These plants just like it lean and mean. The preceding was a production of New Mexico State University. The views and opinions in this program are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of the NMSU Board of Regents.