Small yards reward water-wise design most. Layout, repetition and edging that make a compact Texas yard look designed rather than sparse.

What drives the price of a xeriscape conversion in Austin, where the rebate helps, and why the cheapest bid usually costs more later.

Decomposed granite, flagstone, pavers, gravel or concrete. Cost, upkeep and how each performs in Austin heat and downpours.

Winter is the safe window for most pruning in Central Texas, including oaks. What to cut, what to leave and what never to top.

Bluebonnet seed goes down in fall, not spring. Timing, seed-to-soil contact and the mowing mistake that erases next year is bloom.

Austin offers rebates for rainwater collection. How much a roof actually yields, what size tank makes sense, and where harvested water helps most.

Blackland clay swells, cracks and drains slowly. What that means for planting, drainage and foundations in Hutto, Pflugerville and Manor.

Foundations, septic fields, power lines and shallow caliche. The placement mistakes that cost Austin homeowners a tree or a repair years later.

Decomposed granite is the local standard for paths in Austin. What it costs in upkeep, how to keep it in place, and where it beats concrete.

Austin restricts irrigation year-round, not just in drought. Those rules should shape the design, because a thirsty landscape will be under-watered by law.