Getting up close and personal with beautiful water-wise plants from Plant Select

If you think water-wise plants are dull, boring and look like something out of the desert, think again.

Hundreds of water-wise plants exist that offer a wide array of colors, shapes, sizes and flowers. Plus, these plants can use about a third (or less!) of the amount of water Kentucky bluegrass needs to survive our dry climate.

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One of the best resources for finding water-wise plants is Plant Select, a nonprofit collaboration between Denver Botanic Gardens, Colorado State University and professional horticulturists. They research, test and promote beautiful, low-water plants that thrive in Colorado's dry climate.

Learn more about saving water inside and out (including available rebates) at denverwater.org/Conserve.

We checked in with Ross Shrigley, the executive director of Plant Select, to learn about water-wise plants in the two featured videos below.

In the first video, Ross gives us a tour of a beautiful garden to see some popular Plant Select plants.

In our second video, Ross talks about the importance of planning before planting, and where to find free water-wise design plans.

These pictures and video feature the garden of Ryan Harter.

You can watch other videos with Harter on TAP, and check out his website xericgarden.com or his Instagram page at The Xeric Garden to see more of his landscape work.