I grew up in the Mojave Desert and spent more than half my life living in the desert. Lots of beautiful and wonderful things will grow there, much easier than trying to struggle with a lawn. My advice is that to look into xeriscaping, choosing a landscape and plants with very low water requirements. With xeriscaping, it is important to plan carefully before you start and to choose plants that meet the PH requirements of your soil (very alkaline, in my experience), the sun’s intensity and low water availability. There is also a good chance you will need to improve your soil. A healthy soil holds water much better than hard packed clay or sand. You might want to consider raising sections of your yard by introducing healthy soil amendments where you want to plant and leave lower pathways between the beds either mulched or hard-packed to discourage weed growth.
Before you plant, think about the areas that you might want to irrigate and install a drip watering system. That way you are only supplying water to the plants you want, discouraging weed where you don’t want plants. When you water, water deeply and less frequently to encourage deep root growth. Shallow, frequent irrigation only encourages shallow root growth that requires more and more water. Depending where you are in the Mojave Desert, you may be able to capture some rain or snow-melt to keep in your garden instead of letting it run off down the street. (My mother still lives there and often receives less than four inches of rain annually. In a climate like that, I believe only xeriscaping makes sense.)
You can look into native plants as well as plants adapted from other deserts for variety. If you have to have grass (A concept we unquestioningly adopted from England a long time ago, but England has a very different climate than yours), keep it very small and try to find native grasses (such as Indian Rice Grass, Red Brome or Desert Needle). Think instead about a wildflower garden – no mowing! (California poppy, Primrose, Datura, Desert Alyssum, Goldfields, Rock Daisies, Globe Mallow, link to more choices a cactus garden (include Yuccas and Joshua trees!), and a shaded area by growing pinyon pine, the California Juniper or perhaps Mesquite if you have the space. Incorporate local rocks into the landscape to provide contrast and visual interest.
You have a great opportunity to create a beautiful place for yourself and the desert wildlife. I could write more but I don’t want to be overwhelming. In what city do you live? That might help direct me to resources you can use. Also, if you are living in a suburb, try to get your neighbors’ cooperation or have a gravel or mulch boarder between your yards. My first xeriscape was made much more difficult because my neighbor had a lawn and sprinklers. His grass and water did not stay on his yard and kept moving into our yard, creating a constant weeding chore. Good luck and if I can be of more help, let me know!
-- Robin, Massachusetts - "Live simply so others can simply live." M. Gandhi
