Streamline a Front Yard in Four Steps

Entry Path, Courtyard, and Shade Trees Transform a Phoenix Yard

Landscape architect Christy Ten Eyck redesigned Patricia and Wellington Reiter's front yard: a straight walkway now leads to the front door, intersecting a central courtyard defined by three low walls (a fourth is a pre-existing planter) for seating. Four thornless 'Phoenix' mesquites will shade most of the yard; deer grass clumps replace lawn.

4 Steps to Streamline

1. Break out the shovels: Sink planted areas 6" to capture rainfall and solve flooding on a backward slope. Saves money vs. plumbing.
2. Widen the walk: Break it into large squares with river rock/gravel bands near the door. Use inexpensive concrete and black river rock.
3. Plant for impact: Mass a few plant types—deer grass, Pedilanthus in raised planters, Euphorbia along a wall. Space grasses to keep grid visible, buy fewer plants.
4. Choose shapely trees: Two trees with open canopies (mesquite, palo verde) create dappled shade. In cooler zones: Chinese pistache, honey locust, paperbark maple, silk tree. Cost far less than manmade structures.