Top of Utahns plant gardens that reduce water use By BRAD GILLMAN Standard-Examiner staff bgillman@standard.net Dennis Wirick, from Marriott-Slaterville, has been removing all of the dead foliage and plants from outside his home. The large mounds of snow are slowly disappearing from Ruby Raccasi's yard in Eden. Betsi Huler, of Clearfield, is busy choosing plants for her newly remodeled landscape. They're all getting ready. Soon, their gardens will be in full bloom. They all have different paths, but one connection their eco-friendly landscapes, the main benefit of which comes in reducing water use. Wirick took on the task three years ago in the midst of a nasty Utah drought now, he's cut his water bill in half. "I got frustrated watching the neighbors water their lawns every day. And I thought we could do something that's going to help," Wirick said. His initial action was killing all of his grass. Then he had to decide what to put in the dead turf's place. Xeriscaping, an environmentally friendly design with water-wise landscaping, was an option. "Our concept was 'xeriscaping' rocks, cactus, ugly landscape," Wirick said. A trip to the Conservation Garden Park in West Jordan changed his perception. "Xeriscape doesn't mean no VIDEO: Check out the transformation of local residents' gardens Dennis Wirick removes year's planting. MATTHEW HATFIELD/Standard-Examiner some of the dead plants in his Marriott-Slaterville yard in preparation for this water. It means using water wisely," said Barney Barnett, owner of Willard Bay Gardens. "Yes, we can create Tucson if we want. Or we can create Moab. We can create anything we want to." Native plants from Utah are typically water-wise, which means drought-resistant. They have to be because the Beehive State is a desert. Yet xeric plants can still be lush and green plants, said Lori Matsukawa from the Utah Botanical Center in Kaysville. "You don't have to have sagebrush and a dead skull (in the yard)," joked Matsukawa. Mapping the garden Ruby Raccasi planned her flower beds while looking out her kitchen window. After building a new home in a hayfield in the Ogden Valley, she got to work on a water-wise place with tons of colorful flowers. She loaded her new plants, fresh in their pots, on top of the old farmed dirt hills. "Then I'd go inside the house and look and see where I wanted the tree," Raccasi said. Barnett said it's a good idea to map your projected gardens. Look for the trees you want to plant and their planned locations. Check out shrubs and ornamental grasses and know their blooming seasons. Finally, look at where to put the perennials. "Look at your spots and say, 'Where do I have spots that I can put flowering plants that I can get blooming all season long?'" Barnett said. Set plants that bloom in the spring next to fall bloomers for a continual flowering process. Use the same method to mix the colors. Word of warning, though: Consider what your garden will look like in the next year or so. When planting, make sure there's adequate space between plants. "You've got to be aware that things will spread out,"