Xeriscape means dry, not dull

Its the second day of winter 2014 and the Eckerts landscape surrounding their Vail home is green and leafy with trees, bushes, yuccas and succulents.

The front yard welcomes visitors with a groomed version of the natural desert.

Water tumbling from the spa to the pool and several comfortable seating areas with Rincon Mountains views make the backyard an inviting gathering spot.

Its a lush setting of low water-use plants that mimic the Sonoran Desert beyond the property.

Those features helped earn two Tucson companies the 2014 Xeriscape Award from the Arizona Landscape Contractors Association. The award was shared by landscape designer Shelly Ann Abbott of Landscape Design West LLC and landscape contractor Sonoran Gardens Inc.

Chris Niccum, owner of Sonoran Gardens, hopes the attention the award brings will help people better understand xeriscaping.

Homeowners continue to be surprised and confused that something so green and lush as Betty and Jerry Eckerts gardens is called xeriscape, a term that combines two Greek root words to mean dry landscaping.

People still imagine that the term means zero-scape, essentially a dull, stark view of some rocks and cactus, says Niccum.

Xeriscape came up as a water-saving principle, says Niccum. I believe it has developed into a landscaping style.

For Tucson, that style means using native plants that thrive in low-water, desert conditions, he says.

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Xeriscape means dry, not dull