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Low-water planting that holds.

Drought-tolerant planting and smart drip irrigation designed around how you use the yard — usable low-water space, lower bills, and a palette that fits your sun and soil instead of fighting it. Trusted in San Diego County for over forty years.

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Modern rectangular pool with sheet-descent water wall built into a graded San Diego lot, structure set before the finish

A low-water yard you use.

Pulling out a thirsty lawn is not about giving something up. Done right, a drought-tolerant yard is more usable, not less: decomposed-granite paths you can walk, planting that gives you color and screening where you want privacy, open space that holds up to kids and dogs, and a water bill that drops by half or more. We start by working out how you live in the yard — where you sit, where you walk, what you want to look at — and design the planting and the hard surfaces around that.

Plant choice follows the same logic. We pick a palette that fits your sun, your soil, and how much attention you want to give it, mixing California natives for the parts you want to leave alone with broader drought-tolerant selections where you want a specific look. The point is a yard that thrives on its own terms, not a catalog spread that struggles the first dry summer.

The irrigation is built to match. We zone the drip by sun and plant type, run it to the root instead of spraying the air, and put it on a smart controller that waters by weather rather than a fixed clock. That is where the savings come from, and it is what keeps the planting healthy with almost none of your time. We have built low-water yards this way since 1984.

What’s included.

  • A low-water layout designed around how you use the yard — paths, gathering, open space, screening
  • Drought-tolerant and California native planting selected for your sun, soil, and how much upkeep you want
  • Decomposed granite paths, dry-creek beds, and boulder features that replace thirsty turf
  • Smart, weather-based controllers zoned by sun and plant type so every area gets what it needs
  • Pressure-compensating drip irrigation run to the root, mapped to the planting plan
  • Mulch and ground cover to hold moisture, cut evaporation, and suppress weeds
  • Guidance on current water-district rebates so the conversion qualifies where one applies
  • Soil prep and site work so the planting takes hold and the yard lasts

Our process.

01 · Discovery

How you use it

We walk the property, work out how you want to live in the yard, and check your sun and soil. We talk through where you want planting, paths, and open space, and check what rebates your water district has on offer — before a number is priced.

02 · Design

Plan & zoning

You see the planting plan and the irrigation layout together. Plant palette, decomposed granite and dry-creek features, and the drip zones get drawn around how you want to use the space, with the site work the lot requires.

03 · Build

Built in-house

Site prep first so the planting takes hold. Then soil amendment, drip lines mapped to the plan, planting, decomposed granite, and mulch. Every phase runs in-house, one crew accountable for the one before it.

04 · Handoff

Program & warranty

We program the smart controller to the planting plan, walk you through running it by zone, and hand it off. Then the work is ours to stand behind.

Selected xeriscape projects.

Drought-tolerant and native planting with decomposed granite paths on a San Diego County lot
Xeriscape & drip
Low-water conversion, zoned drip
Drought-tolerant xeriscape planting in San Diego's backcountry
Hillside · low-water
Hillside planting, built to last
Decomposed granite and dry-creek features integrated with low-water planting and hardscape on a San Diego property
DG & dry-creek
Dry-creek beds, integrated hardscape

Why bring us your yard.

Forty-two years, same owner

Darren Earl has been planting and irrigating San Diego County properties since 1984. He has watched what thrives on this region’s soil through four decades of drought cycles and rebate programs. The owner prices the job himself, and his in-house crew, not a rotating cast of subs, builds it.

One team, no subcontractors

Most low-water installs hand the design to one crew, the drip to another, and the planting to a third, each blaming the last when a zone runs dry. We run every phase in-house. One contract, one number to call, no gaps between trades for a problem to hide in.

Designed for how you live

A low-water yard only works if it fits how you use the space and how much upkeep you want. We design the planting and the watering around that, then back the work with a clean record across forty-two years — zero construction complaints. The savings show up on the bill, the yard stays usable, and it holds.

Xeriscape questions, answered straight.

Replacing thirsty turf with drought-tolerant planting on a zoned drip system commonly cuts outdoor water use by half or more, and outdoor irrigation is the largest part of most San Diego water bills. The savings come from two things working together: plants that want less water, and drip that puts it at the root instead of spraying it into the air. San Diego County water districts and the regional turf-replacement programs have offered per-square-foot rebates for converting lawn to low-water landscape. Programs and amounts change, so we tell you what is current when we scope your project and build the plan to qualify where one applies.
Native plants evolved in this region — California species that live on local rainfall once established, support local pollinators, and ask the least of you. Drought-tolerant is a wider group that includes natives plus low-water plants from other dry climates, like many succulents and Mediterranean species. Both cut water use sharply. We usually mix them: natives for the backbone and the slopes where you want plants that hold soil with no help, and broader drought-tolerant selections where you want specific color, form, or screening. The choice is driven by your sun, soil, and grade, not by a catalog.
A smart controller waters by conditions instead of a fixed clock. It adjusts run times to weather and season, skips a cycle after rain, and splits the yard into zones so a sunny slope and a shaded bed each get what they need rather than one blanket schedule. Paired with drip lines that deliver water at the root, it removes the two biggest sources of waste: watering when it is not needed and spraying water where plants are not. We set the zones to the planting plan and the grade, then program it and show you how to run it.
It depends far more on the choices than people expect. The same yard can swing widely on cost depending on the materials and the size and maturity of the plants — decomposed granite versus stone paths, a simple bed versus dry-creek features and boulders, one-gallon plants that fill in over a year versus mature specimens that look finished on day one. We walk the property, lay out the planting and the hard surfaces as one fixed concept, and tell you which line items are driving the number so you can spend where it matters to you and skip where it doesn’t.
Yes, and a slope is often where a low-water yard pays off most, because thirsty turf on a grade is a chore to mow and a waste of water. We plant deep-rooted natives and ground covers that hold a hillside and need little once established, then run pressure-compensating drip designed for the elevation change so the top of the slope gets the same water as the bottom. We do the site prep a slope needs so the planting takes hold and stays put, and you end up with a bank that looks good and asks almost nothing of you.

Tell us about the yard.

Bring us the lot — a lawn you’re ready to lose, a slope you’re tired of fighting, or a blank yard. We come look at it, work out how you want to use it, and give you a fixed-price concept for the planting and the irrigation together. No charge for the visit.

Hours
Mon–Fri · 8:00am – 5:00pm
Saturday · By appointment
Sunday · Closed
License
CSLB #523467 · Licensed & insured

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