Landscaping questions, answered

Yes — drainage is one of the most common problems we're called out for in Colorado Springs, and it's usually fixable.

Most of the trouble here comes from a few predictable places: heavy clay soil that doesn't absorb water quickly, yards graded to slope toward the house instead of away from it, downspouts dumping right at the foundation, and the July and August monsoon storms that drop a lot of water in a very short window. Add spring snowmelt and you get standing water, soggy lawn patches, eroded beds, and in the worst cases water finding its way toward your foundation.

Depending on what's actually causing it, we'll look at regrading, French drains, dry creek beds, swales, downspout extensions, or reworking beds and hardscape so water has somewhere to go.

The important part is diagnosis. The spot where water pools is often not the spot causing the problem, so we walk the property, look at how the whole yard sheds water, and fix the cause rather than the symptom. If we find something structural — foundation or serious sub-surface issues — we'll tell you straight and point you to the right specialist rather than burying it under new landscaping.

There's no universal right answer — it depends on what's growing there and how you want to spend your time.

Choose mulch when the bed holds perennials, annuals, vegetables, or anything with thin leaves and shallow roots. Mulch holds soil moisture, moderates temperature swings, and breaks down into organic matter that improves our clay soils over time. The tradeoff: it decomposes, so it needs topping up every two to three years.

Choose rock when you're planting xeric or native species, when the bed sits in full sun on a south or west exposure, when you want something you install once and mostly forget, or when you're building defensible space near the house. The tradeoffs are real, though. Rock radiates heat, which stresses anything not adapted to it. Weeds still colonize it as dust and organic debris settle between the stones. And removing rock later is genuinely miserable work — it's close to a permanent decision.

A few honest cautions. Rock against a south-facing wall creates a heat trap that will cook most non-xeric plants. Landscape fabric under rock buys you a few good years and then becomes a problem as it degrades and roots grow through it — it's not the permanent weed solution it's sold as. And mulch on a steep slope washes out in monsoon season without proper terracing or edging.

Most of the yards we build use both: rock in the sunny, low-water, low-traffic zones and mulch around the plantings that need it. We'll walk your property and tell you which is which.

Once you've decided between rock and mulch (see above), the specific material comes down to how the bed will be used and what your house already looks like.

For rock, the common choices around Colorado Springs are tan and buff granite gravel, squeegee, breeze or crusher fines for pathways, rounded river cobble for dry creek beds and drainage features, and larger boulders as accents. Angular gravel locks together and stays put on slopes; rounded cobble looks softer but migrates. Lava rock is lightweight and holds heat, which some plants hate. We usually pull rock that matches the existing tones in your home's stone or stucco, since a color that fights the house is the thing people regret most.

For mulch, shredded cedar and shredded hardwood are the workhorses. Both knit together as they settle, which matters a lot here — Colorado Springs gets serious wind, and loose bark nuggets end up in your neighbor's yard. Cedar holds its color longer and resists breaking down. Dyed mulches look sharp on day one but tend to fade unevenly by the second season.

Depth matters more than the material. Too thin and weeds come through; too thick and you suffocate roots. We install to the right depth for what's planted, with proper edging so it stays where we put it.

Honestly? Nothing is zero maintenance — anyone promising that is selling something. But the difference between a yard that eats your weekends and one that needs a few hours a season is enormous, and it's decided almost entirely at the design stage.

The biggest lever is reducing turf. Grass is by far the most demanding thing in a Colorado yard: mowing, watering, fertilizing, aerating, overseeding. Replacing turf you don't actually use with xeriscape, native plantings, or hardscape cuts your workload and your water bill at the same time. Colorado Springs Utilities has run turf-replacement rebate programs — worth checking what's currently available before you start, since it can offset a meaningful chunk of the cost.

After that it comes down to a handful of decisions:

• Right plant, right place. Natives and adapted species that want our sun, wind, alkaline soil, and 16-ish inches of annual precipitation will thrive without babysitting. The wrong plant needs constant intervention to merely survive.
• Plan for mature size. Most pruning work exists because something was planted where it didn't fit. Space things for what they'll become, not what they look like at the nursery.
• Group plants by water need. Zoning your yard by thirst means your irrigation actually works instead of drowning half of it and starving the other half.
• Drip irrigation on a smart controller. Drip puts water at the roots instead of into the wind, and a weather-based controller adjusts on its own. Fewer failures, fewer dead plants, lower bills.
• Steel edging and clean transitions. Most weeding is fighting the boundary between two materials. A crisp permanent edge removes that fight.
• Expand hardscape where it earns its keep. Patios, walkways, and dry creek beds do a job and ask for nothing back.

A well-designed xeriscape in Colorado Springs typically needs a seasonal cleanup, some spot weeding, and occasional pruning — not a weekly commitment. That's the realistic target, and it's what we design toward.

Most projects are priced individually after a free on-site visit, since cost depends on the size of your yard, the materials, and the scope of work. You'll get a clear, itemized estimate up front — no hidden fees or surprises.

We can usually schedule your free consultation within a few days, and often begin smaller projects within a couple of weeks. Timing depends on the season and our current schedule, so call us for current availability.

We serve a 35-mile radius around Monument, CO — covering Colorado Springs, the Tri-Lakes area (Monument and Palmer Lake), Black Forest, Falcon, Fountain, Manitou Springs, and Woodland Park, plus north into Larkspur, Castle Rock, and Castle Pines. Not sure if you're in our area? Just give us a call and ask.

S&C Landscaping is owned and operated by Chris and Simeon, who together bring 15 years of combined experience. You'll work directly with the owners, not a rotating crew of subcontractors.