Bermuda would be a poor choice because it would have a very short growing season. Tall fescue doesn't really use much less water than KBG (at least not in comparison with the grasses I'll be discussing in a bit). If it can't grow deep roots, it can sometimes actually need more water than KBG. You've got several options. If your main goal is to plant grass that will stay green with almost no water, the two grasses that would probably use the least are buffalo grass and blue grama. These are often grown together in a lawn setting. They're both native and both will grow in Colorado. The problem is that they'd have a short growing season (especially in Zone 4). If you don't mind a lawn that will be tan from late September or Early October into mid to late May, these will use the least amount of water. Both can be bought as seeds, plugs or sod. Sod is the most expensive, but easiest and fastest to establish. Seed is the least expensive, but hardest and slowest to establish. Buffalo grass grown from seed also has pollen that causes problems for many people with allergies. If you'd rather have a lawn that is green at about the same times as the KBG lawn, you'll want a cool season grass. One grass that is getting a lot of use in lawns recently is crested wheatgrass. This is an import and can live with no additional water. In fact, watering it much would kill it. It has very fine leaves, but they're a bit too yellow for my taste. It deals with drought by going in and out of dormancy at the drop of a hat. Most varieties are bunch grasses, but a few newer varieties such as Roadcreast and Ephraim are weakly rhizomatous. Sheep fescue is native to the intermountan west, but the variety that is most often used in lawns (Covar) is based on a stand found in Turkey. It has extensive very fine roots, that don't go very deep into the soil, but spread laterally. It has very fine leaves and deals with drought with the extensive root system and also by reducing evapotransporation. It's low growing and can be left unmowed if you don't mind a slightly wild look. It's a bunch grass, but mowing will encourage tillering and it will spread somewhat if it is mowed. It will stay green with very little additional water (on a par with the buffalo grass and blue grama). Streambank and thickspike wheatgrass are native grasses. Some references list streambank as a form of thickspike wheatgrass and not a separate species. They have similar looks and growth types, but streambank wheatgrass is more suited to heavy/clay soil and thickspike wheatgrass does better with sandy soil. It's lighter green than KBG and has very fine leaves. It spreads rhizomatously so it will fill in bare spots. It grows slowly and should be mowed high (around 3.5-4 inches). It may only need to be mowed 2-4 times a year. It will live with no irrigation, but will go dormant during the summer and come out of dormancy once it rains. If you want to keep it green, it would need only slightly more water than the buffalo grass, blue grama or sheep fescue (maybe 1/2 inch every other week). It is pretty easy to get started from seed. Western wheatgrass is somewhat similar to streambank wheatgrass, but it has much deeper roots, so it goes dormant later. It is also slower to come out of dormancy because most of the roots are deeper (so the rains need to penetrate deeper before it will bounce back). It has wider leaves that are somewhat blue in color. It's harder to establish than streambank wheatgrass and seems to do better when dormant seeded. It has similar water needs to streambank wheatgrass, but would probably benefit from less frequent but deeper water. It grows a little more slowly than streambank wheatgrass. I've seen it described as aggressively rhizomatous. Very little fertilizer is required for any of these (maybe 1/2 to 1 lb N per 1000 sq ft per year) and the crested wheatgrass and sheep fescue will probably die if they are fertilized the way a traditional lawn is fertilized. Western wheatgrass will do best if fertilized a couple of times a year, but if it's planted in a mixture (with streambank wheatgrass, for example) it will do fine with the lower level. If you decide to go this route, do as I say, not as I did. Kill the existing lawn first. It's a little scary, but if you try overseeding into the existing lawn, it will take too long and will ultimately cost more. I overseeded my lawn with streambank and western wheatgrass in the front and sheep fescue in the back. I added some blue grama to the heckstrip because it gets so hot in the summer. It has taken several years to get to the point where the majority of the lawn has the native grasses and I've still got a lot of KBG and tall fescue (it will probably die out this year as I plan to water rarely). There's a sod farm in Salt Lake city that sells sod and seed and one of their products may meet your needs. I haven't bought from them because I prefer making my own mixes, but I may buy some of their sod if I end up with bare spaces at the end of the summer. I've bought seed from a number of suppliers (usually buying individual varieties and mixing myself). Round Butte Seed Mountain Valley Seed used to have good prices on streambank nad western wheatgrass, but I don't see them on the site anymore. Southwest Seed I used to have some other links, but I can't think of them at the moment. My dog loves to lie in the area that is mostly streambank wheatgrass.

Here I am, finally! Sorry I never got around to taking any pictures; maybe this year, though the trees I have aren't all that impressive. Spring time in the Rockies, not much money for more conifers this year - spent too much last year with mixed results. Of the dwarf conifers I planted, almost half of them had died by the end of the summer, and one more succumbed over the winter. :-( This is a list of the ones that I actually planted last spring: Abies balsamea 'Nana' Juniperus communis 'Kalebab' Picea abies 'Tompa' Picea pungens 'Mile Up 92' (a gift from Nate (sluice) Picea pungens 'The Blues' Picea glauca (probably mariana??) 'Echiniformis' Pinus aristata Bristlecone Pine (a gift from treebarb) Pinus banksiana 'Angel' Pinus banksiana 'Rochester Pendula' Pinus banksiana 'Tucker's Dwarf' Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph' Pinus mugo 'Zundert' Pinus x schwerrnii 'Wiethorst' Thuja occidentalis 'Little Champion' Thuja occidentalis 'Sherwood Frost' Thuja occidentalis 'Zmatlik' Tsuga canadensis 'Moon Frost' These are the ones that are still alive and seem to be doing well: Juniperus communis 'Kalebab' Pinus banksiana 'Rochester Pendula' Pinus banksiana 'Angel' Pinus contorta 'Chief Joseph' Pinus mugo 'Zundert' Thuja occidentalis 'Little Champion' Thuja occidentalis 'Sherwood Frost' Tsuga canadensis 'Moon Frost' Pinus banksiana 'Tucker's Dwarf' is still alive but doesn't look all that good, lots of die back which doesn't bode well for such a tiny plant... The two I regret losing the most are the 'Mile Up 92' and the 'Wiethorst.' The 'Mile Up' is irreplaceable as this was a clone that sluice grew and I won't get another chance at it - surprisingly, when I dug it up after it died it had almost no root ball. Perhaps I should have kept it in the pot for another year. I will try to replace the 'Weithorst' as it is really a wonderful looking tree; still can't find a source other than Klehms Song Sparrow Farms, though. Since the one I got from them died (of course, wasn't my fault, right?!?) I am somewhat reluctant to buy another one from them... Is that foolish? But, since they seem to be the only source here in the USA, I will no doubt try again - after all, the 'Moon Frost' that I got from them is doing fine. So, that's my sad tale! Not much encouragement for trying more conifers this year, so I guess it is a good thing that I don't have the $$, although I did buy a cheapy from Home Depot this weekend, a Picea abies 'Reflexa' (of course, incorrectly labeled as a 'Pendula.') Happy Spring to everyone, hope you had a better survival rate than I did and that you have eagerly added to your collection for 2012. :-D Holly

Check out the thread linked below. It's a few years old but Timberline Gardens linked in that thread is still probably your best bet for information in Denver! Skybird Here is a link that might be useful: Joshua Tree Yucca thread!

Stacie, I called my DIL's brother who has grandkids close to the age of your children. His suggestions for the Denver area for kidlet fun activities were: 1.Water World http://www.waterworldcolorado.com/ 2. Casa Bonita, one of the two places I thought of also. It's a themed restaurant with indoor pools and performers who high dive off of cliffs. The food is barely mediocre Mexican, but I can promise your kids will remember it all there lives - at least my now 42 year old son and his friends remember going there as kids decades ago. The website shows some of the cliff divers. http://www.casabonitadenver.com/ 3. The Children's Museum - This was the second place I thought of and it would be a lot of fun for all your children. http://www.mychildsmuseum.org/ 4. White Fence Farm Restaurant and much more. A huge place with a farm petting zoo, live music much of the time and definitely kid friendly. I've never been there but it was one of the top suggestions from my DIL's brother. http://whitefencefarm-co.com/Template.php?-p=Home&-rid=579 5. The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo - smaller than the Denver Zoo but a fun thing to do in Colorado Springs and very interactive for your children. There is a tram and a train ride. http://www.cmzoo.org/ He mentioned a few more places but my notes are downstairs. I'll reread them tomorrow. Lee