Say "xeriscape" to most Colorado homeowners and they picture a gravel lot with three yuccas. That's not xeriscape; that's a parking lot with ambitions. The word was coined in Denver in the 1980s to describe landscaping that uses water wisely, and done well it produces yards that are fuller, more colorful, and more alive than the turf they replaced.
The core idea is hydrozoning: grouping plants by how much water they need, so the irrigation system can give each zone exactly that and nothing more. Colorado natives and drought-tolerant perennials, grasses, and shrubs go in the low-water zones, which on most properties is most of the yard. A small, well-placed area of lawn can stay where it's actually used.
The second idea is soil and mulch. Front Range clay holds water poorly at the surface and compacts easily, so a xeriscape plan specifies soil amendment, mulch type, and depth. Wood mulch in planting beds, rock only where it makes sense for heat and drainage. Rock everywhere is how you get the gravel-lot look and a yard that bakes in July.
The third idea is design. A good plan layers heights and seasons: spring bulbs and penstemon, summer coneflower and blanket flower, fall grasses and rabbitbrush, winter structure from evergreens and seed heads. The result reads as a garden, not a substitute for one.
Many Northern Colorado water providers offer turf-replacement rebates, and most require a plan that shows plant selection, irrigation changes, and the area being converted. A designed conversion gives you that documentation and a yard that keeps improving as it matures.