Fed up with mowing the lawn or pulling up weeds? The challenging Texas climate can turn traditional yards into major headaches for homeowners with lawns.
Fortunately, there are countless other options to tending grass lawns in Texas backyards, with many low-maintenance ideas available for homeowners who don’t love spending weekends tending their yards.
We look at 15 of the best low-maintenance Texas landscaping ideas to create a great yard with minimal upkeep, regardless of the heat, drought conditions, soil conditions or storms, while also using less water and other resources…
1. Artificial Grass
Replacing your lawn with artificial grass can instantly reduce the maintenance required for your yard. Artificial turf lawns need next-to-no maintenance and stay pristinely green all year without mowing, fertilizing, watering, weeding or aerating.
Although artificial grass costs more than natural grass, the minimal upkeep required means that low ongoing costs repay the initial investment within five or six years. A synthetic lawn should last 15 or 20 years if you choose a high-quality product, install it professionally, and prevent debris from building up.
SAVE TIME, MONEY & WATER WITH ARTIFICIAL GRASS
The experienced team at Artificial Grass Pros will provide a free estimate and help you make the switch. Contact us here.
2. Gravel and Decomposed Granite Walkways
Another natural, low-maintenance Texas landscaping idea is a walkway made from gravel or decomposed granite.
Requiring virtually no upkeep, effort or resources once installed, gravel walkways are affordable and work well alongside other landscaping materials like artificial grass and other top grass alternatives in Texas.
Pea gravel is a suitable hard landscaping choice for many backyards as its rounded edges are family-friendly and very safe.
3. Rock Gardens
Rock gardens are attractive, hardy, and natural backyard features that look great all year with almost no maintenance. As a versatile, low-water garden idea, they work equally well for the budget-conscious and homeowners with larger budgets.
Texas rock gardens can feature native heat-tolerant plants such as agave and yucca that grow naturally in dry, rocky environments and are drought-resistant.
4. Concrete Patios
Concrete doesn’t have to be boring. New and creative ways to use concrete in Texas properties extend beyond driveways to patios, decks, firepit areas, and entertainment areas.
A few concrete patio floor ideas, for instance, can inspire you to transform a grass-based yard into a low-maintenance hardscaped area—though this will require a higher budget than many other landscaping ideas included here.
5. Pavers
Another low-maintenance backyard landscaping design for Texas homeowners looking to replace grass is pavers.
Red-brick pavers are practical and affordable, bringing a homely aesthetic to sitting or entertainment areas, while composite pavers can also work well, emulating the inviting appearance of wood.
Pavers also work well alongside other landscaping materials like gravel, mulch or synthetic grass.
6. Xeriscaping
Xeriscaping is drought-tolerant landscaping designed to conserve water, employing drought-resistant Texas native plants to beautify the landscape without requiring much irrigation.
For xeriscaping in Texas, Black-Eyed Susan, Purple Coneflower, Red Yucca, Texas Sage, and other native plants and succulents can be used with mulch and artificial grass. This will create colorful and attractive yards that are resistant to climate variations and pests.
7. Mulch Gardens
A mulch garden is another cost-effective, low-maintenance, and easy landscaping idea to replace grass in Texas.
Mulch is usually made of tree bark, wood chips, and pine straw. Organic, affordable, pest-resistant, and moisture-retentive, it adds beauty to yards alongside the colorful appearance of hardy, native perennial plants (that bloom every year), such as Texas Lantana, Texas Sage, and Blackfoot Daisy.
Mulch suppresses weeds and can also be used in gardens around native shrubs and trees, adding nutrients to the soil as it breaks down.
8. Low-or-No-Mow Lawn
If you want to keep a grass lawn but also reduce maintenance, try replacing a Bermuda Grass, Zoysia or St. Augustine lawn area with a lower-maintenance alternative.
Depending on your location in Texas (San Antonio and Austin have different climates and growing needs from Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston), you could try Buffalo Grass, Curly Mesquite or Blue Grama, which require minimal maintenance once established.
You could also try a no-mow lawn. Various low-growing natural ground coverings like Dutch Clover, Green and Gold, and Creeping Speedwell never need mowing or pruning, resulting in a natural yard that requires little maintenance to flourish.
9. Rain Garden
Large parts of Texas are affected by drought, so if you’re looking for a water-saving way to landscape your yard, consider a rain garden to harvest rainwater for further use.
Rain gardens help manage stormwater runoff and collect rainwater that can be channeled to native plants or other yard areas. Sustainable water solutions like this are becoming more popular as water-conscious homeowners seek ways to conserve our precious resource.
10. Wildflower Patches
Wildflower patches are another sustainable and low-maintenance Texas landscaping idea that costs very little to establish.
Texas wildflowers like Bluebonnets, Indian Paintbrush, Pink Evening Primrose, and Firewheel add seasonal color and attract pollinators to the yard while requiring little upkeep work.
11. Edible Native Plants
Another natural, low-cost, and low-maintenance Texas landscaping idea is to cultivate native plants to end up on your dining table. They are not only edible but also add beauty to your yard.
Prickly pear, rosemary, meadow garlic, jujube, figs, Texas persimmon, pecan, and more can all thrive in Texas yards with little to no maintenance once established.
12. Raised Beds with Drip Irrigation
Irrigation is an important consideration for any Texas garden and, if you’re trying to cut down on water usage by replacing a lawn, it makes sense to move to a drip irrigation system.
Native plants require little additional moisture to thrive but flower species that require watering can be targeted with a drip irrigation system. You can design raised flower beds using little more than lumber for borders, soil, and native plants.
13. Container Gardening with Low-Water Plants
Another low-maintenance Texas landscaping idea that offers a flexible and tidy solution but with a splash of color is container gardening. This is especially practical for small yards and balconies.
Native succulents or drought-tolerant flowers are ideal options for this type of gardening, where pots or other vessels are used to house the plants. The beauty of this solution is that the potted plants can brighten up any ground covering, even plain old concrete.
14. Shade Trees
Unless you want to grow a verdant backyard lawn, there’s no need for relentless sunshine in your yard. You might like to consider adding a little more shade.
Shade trees like Cedar Elm, Texas Red Oak, Southern Sugar Maple, Bald Cypress, and Dwarf Palmetto adapt naturally to the soils in this region and can help you create natural shaded areas that provide cooling with very little maintenance required.
15. Pergola or Arbor
Pergolas are another low-maintenance landscaping idea for Texan backyards. These open-air structures are often made of wood or stone and stand away from the home.
For those with lower budgets, arbors are generally smaller structures that may adjoin the home. Their sides and roof are formed by trees or climbing plants like wisteria or jasmine on a wooden frame.
Summary: Low-Maintenance Landscaping Ideas in Texas
| LANDSCAPING IDEA | UPFRONT COST | ONGOING COSTS | MAINTENANCE | WATER USE |
| Artificial grass | High | Very low | Very low | Very low |
| Gravel/ Decomposed Granite Walkways | Moderate | Very low | Very low | Very low |
| Rock garden | Low | Very low | Very low | Low (if native plants used) |
| Concrete patio | High | Very low | Very low | Very low |
| Pavers | Moderate | Very low | Very low | Very low |
| Xeriscaping | Moderate | Low | Low | Low |
| Mulch gardens | Low | Very low | Very low | Very low |
| Low-or-No-Mow Lawn | Low to Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| Rain gardens | Low | Low | Low | Low |
| Wildflower patches | Very low | Low | Low | Low |
| Edible native plants | Low | Low to moderate | Moderate to High | Moderate |
| Raised beds | Moderate | Low to moderate | Low to Moderate | Moderate |
| Container gardening | Low to Moderate | Low to moderate | Low with native plants | Low to Moderate |
| Shade trees | Moderate | Low | Low | Low to moderate |
| Pergola or Arbor | High | Very low | Very low | Very low |
FAQs
Low-Maintenance Backyard Landscapes in Texas…
The low-maintenance Texas landscaping ideas outlined above will suit different budgets and design preferences.
To reduce the maintenance work needed in your yard as well as the ongoing gardening bills, artificial grass or another grass alternative makes a lot of sense—but where do you start?
We’ve helped thousands of homeowners enjoy the verdant look and lush feel of artificial turf in the past decade and more. Discuss your options with our experienced team of turf professionals.
