Lush look for a hard spot

Hemmed in by a driveway and brick walk, a lush-looking entry garden composed of colorful and unthirsty plants greets visitors to the home of Peggy Ives and Roger Heroux in Colorado Springs.

When local landscape architect Jeanie Sims ( 719/473-0969) drew up the garden plans in 1999, she compiled a list of eye-catching plants that would be tough enough to thrive on this windy, sun-drenched site and also survive occasional grazing by deer and rabbits.

Two years later, the grown-in garden won a Xeriscape contest sponsored by Colorado Springs Utilities.

Soft, silvery lamb's ears, black-eyed Susans, and red daylilies flank the driveway. Goldenrod and blue mist spiraea fill out the bed that crowds a flagstone path linking the driveway and walk. Near the house, purple-flowered 'Black Knight' butterfly bush and the wheatlike plumes of feather reed add height and texture.

A craggy ponderosa pine anchors a showy display near the front door, where the burnt-orange blooms of Mexican sunflower play off lacy lavender Russian sage.