Black Diamond Landscape & Outdoor Living
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Water-wise Murray front yard with boulder field, river-rock dry stream, planting beds, and reduced lawn

Murray, Utah

Water-Wise Front Yard — Murray City Beautification Award Winner

A conventional lawn and parkstrip replaced with a boulder field, river-rock dry stream, and drought-tolerant planting beds. This Murray front yard earned a City Beautification Award and demonstrates how water-wise landscaping can be both practical and beautiful.

Before & After

The transformation

Front yard overview

Murray front yard before the water-wise renovation — conventional lawn and parkstripBefore
Conventional lawn and parkstrip before the water-wise renovation.
Murray front yard after the water-wise renovation — brick house with boulder field, dry stream, and plantingAfter
Finished front yard with boulder field, river-rock dry stream, and reduced lawn.

Front elevation & sidewalk

Murray front yard during installation — boulders and dry-stream alignment set before plantingDuring
Boulders and the dry-stream alignment set during installation, before planting filled in.
Murray front elevation after the water-wise renovation — planting beds following the sidewalk curveAfter
Planting beds follow the curve of the sidewalk once the project was complete.

Drive side

Murray driveway side during installation — early boulder and gravel layoutDuring
Drive-side boulder and gravel layout during installation.
Murray drive side after the renovation — gravel island with boulders inside a mulch planting bedAfter
Finished gravel island with boulders inside the mulch planting bed on the drive side.

Gallery

Dry-stream boulder field looking toward the street on a Murray corner lot
The dry stream and boulder field carry the design from the house toward the corner sidewalk.
Close view of dark river rock, sandstone boulders, and tan gravel in the Murray dry stream
Dark river rock contrasts with tan gravel and sandstone boulders to define the dry-stream line.
Curved mulch planting bed and gravel island along a Murray sidewalk
Mulch planting beds and a gravel island follow the sidewalk curve on the side yard.
Gravel planting island with boulders bordered by a mulch bed in Murray
A gravel island with boulders sits inside the mulch bed so the side yard keeps the same material language as the front.
Murray side yard with water-wise beds and Wasatch mountain view beyond the street
Low planting preserves the long view across the street toward the Wasatch Front.
Narrow lawn ribbon between water-wise gravel beds and a white fence in Murray
Lawn remains as a smaller ribbon near the house instead of the primary front-yard surface.
Mulch planting bed and young trees at the fence corner of a Murray water-wise yard
The fence-corner bed continues the mulch-and-boulder language around the side yard.