Xeric GardensSearch Drought Smart Plants here: Xeric gardens, or water wise gardens, are not necessarily a dry desert looking place, with cactus and rocks, although rocks can certainly play a part...
Xeric gardens are an intimately intertwined eco-system of plants, insects, birds and small mammals, and above all, a haven of peace for the gardener.Careful selection of plants from many different groups ensures that you have food sources and safe habitats for many wild creatures. I grow many xeric garden plants to make into rustic crafts and other uses. Some of the plants that I commonly use are willows (Salix species) Red Osier Dogwood (Cornus stolonifera), Ponderosa pine for the cones and native clump maple (Acer douglasii). You'll have to investigate the potential of shrubs and trees in your area to see which local plants are most suitable for these uses. Surprisingly, many commonly grown garden plants from our great-grandmothers time are very drought tolerant, and as well as beautiful they are sought after as pollinator attractants in your nectar corridor particularly for bees and for their medicinal properties. That's why they're still around and popular as ever! 
Lupines (Lupinus) and many other legumes are examples of this type of plant, with a long thick taproot.If you look at the roots of day lilies (Hemerocallis) you can see that they are fleshy, able to save water. Others such as thyme have a fine netting of roots spreading far beyond the top growth of the plant. Even moss and lichen have the ability to survive long dry periods. There are many tactics that enable the plant to either seek out moisture hidden in the soil, or to store it, or go dormant until better conditions occur. Gardening SmartWays that you can successfully build your xeric garden are to choose plants with these strategies, add compost to your soil, and mulch well.Composting...can be as simple as putting some leaves and straw into a hole right in your garden, leaving it to rot slowly in its own good time. If you're not so patient...
...build compost bins, out of wood, wire, large plastic bins and so on. The main advantages to these are that it's much neater (for those with the tidy gene) and it keeps animals and vermin at bay. If you can cut the materials into smaller pieces, so much the better. One method is to put your raked fall leaves into a metal container such as a garbage can and run the string trimmer through it like a blender. The smaller you chop the pieces, the faster it will rot. Place the chopped leaves into plastic bags and add some horse manure or other animal manure (except dog or cat), already processed compost from a previous batch to start the micro-organisms going, or sprinkle on some compost tea. You can also add worms to it and vermicompost, but they have to be the red wriggler type, not the large grey ones. The red ones are best for hotter compost, the grey ones usually just want to burrow deep into existing soil.
Mulching...is essential for keeping moisture in the soil, and for adding small amounts of slow released nutrients.I like the look of lava rock, especially around plants such as Sedum or Sempervivum, but other kinds of rock look equally good. Rock mulches are best used in permanent plantings of perennials, herbs or shrubs, not around annuals or vegetables. Small river rock or gravel, sifted to remove really large boulders is beautiful for a dry creek bed or used around mixed perennials and shrubs. Even areas that are composed almost entirely of boulders can become beautiful
xeric gardens
by utilizing the rocks and pebbles as mulch. These kinds of non-flammable mulches are now recommended for use in areas where there is a risk of wildfires. Agricultural waste such as straw, wood chips and moldy hay can be used in your organic vegetable garden as long as you can keep an eye on slugs or other pests which love the damp conditions found there. I collect the discarded scales from Douglas fir cones after the squirrels finish with them, as these and other organic mulches such as chopped leaves, bark and compost are perfect around woodland plants. The additional organic matter will benefit your soil as these kinds of mulches rot down over time.
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