Home & Garden

Drought Tolerant Plant Selection

Meets Wednesdays · 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM · on location Fall 2026 · registration open Free to audit

This class runs in the Fall 2026 session. Registration is open now; lessons, materials, and the class discussion board are posted before it begins.

This is the next step after a beginner xeriscape class. You've heard the word "xeriscape," maybe killed a few plants (welcome, so have I), and now you want to actually PLAN a bed for your own yard.

We'll go deeper into plant choices for Utah County: which natives shrug off our alkaline, hard-water soil, when things actually bloom, and how to fill the August gap so your yard isn't dead-boring by mid-summer. Bring photos of your yard, your sun and shade situation, and any measurements you've got.

You'll leave with a real planting layout you can dig in this fall, a plant list that fits your dirt, and a much better sense of how little water these plants really want once they're established.

What you'll learn

Assess your yard's sun, shade, and soil conditions
Select drought tolerant plants suited to your dirt type
Plan bloom time sequences to avoid gaps in color
Sketch a planting layout using real measurements and mature sizes
Water new plants correctly during establishment without overdoing it

Lessons

Where You're Starting From
We figure out what you're actually working with in your own yard before we pick a single plant.
Our Dirt Is the Problem (and It's Fine)
Utah County soil is alkaline, hard, and clay-heavy, and we plan around it instead of fighting it.
Natives That Handle Our Valley
The tough, alkaline-tolerant natives and adapted plants that survive here without babying.
Planning for August, Not May
Anybody can have a pretty yard in spring, so we build for the ugly hot part of summer.
Watering, Mulch, and Not Killing Things
How to establish new plants and then back way off, which is the part nobody can stand to do.
Draw Your Actual Layout
You leave this class with a real planting plan you can dig in this fall.

Class discussion

The class discussion board opens when the class begins this fall. Auditors and enrolled students ask questions and share work here once the session starts.