Xeriscape Landscape Designs
The winner of the Tuscon Metropolitan Xeriscape Contest in Arizona this year proves that it's possible to have landscape designs that incorporate some high-irrigation elements but still use water responsibly.
A design from River Road Designs took the top honor for incorporating a small orchard and English garden into an overall desert landscape. The efforts to save water elsewhere in the landscape allowed for the addition of a few water intensive features. The orchard is small, but includes apricot, fig, mandarin, pomegranate, lime, grapefruit and lemon trees adjacent to a vegetable garden. The English garden is also small, and has its own dedicated water line to efficiently water the area without wasting any water on the surrounding desert plants that don't need it. These include many unique specimens of yuccas, agaves, desert bushes and cacti.