Skip to content Evergreen Landscape Pros designs and installs native plant landscaping that thrives in Santa Fe’s high-desert climate while reducing water use and long-term maintenance. Since 2019, we’ve helped homeowners transform traditional lawns into beautiful, water-wise landscaping using New Mexico native plants that naturally flourish in local conditions. Whether you’re interested in landscaping with native plants for sustainability, curb appeal, or easier upkeep, our custom landscapes bring the beauty of the Southwest right to your doorstep with native plant landscapes.
Native plant landscaping is the practice of designing outdoor spaces with plants native to New Mexico that naturally thrive in Santa Fe’s high-desert climate. Rather than relying on thirsty lawns or imported ornamentals, landscaping with native plants works with local soil, rainfall, sunlight, and seasonal temperature changes to create a landscape that is both beautiful and sustainable. Native plant landscapes are easier to get than most Santa Fe homeowners realize.
A professionally designed native plant garden needs far less irrigation, fertilizer, and upkeep once established, and by grouping species into hydrozones we create truly water-wise landscaping that thrives through New Mexico’s hot, dry summers. Choosing native plants also supports healthier local ecosystems, feeding birds, butterflies, and pollinators while suiting Santa Fe’s alkaline soils and intense sun, which makes native plant landscaping one of the smartest long-term investments you can make for your home.
A traditional lawn-and-shrub yard is designed for a wetter climate than ours, so in Santa Fe, it fights the environment every day: it drinks water we do not have, needs constant mowing and feeding, and still struggles through drought and late frosts. Native plant landscapes take the opposite approach and work with the high desert rather than against it.
Kentucky bluegrass lawn that needs frequent irrigation, mowing, fertilizing, and seasonal repairs.
Imported shrubs like boxwoods or thirsty hedges that struggle through drought and winter temperature swings.
High monthly water bills during summer just to keep the lawn green.
Weekly mowing, edging, fertilizing, and weed control throughout the growing season.
Plants damaged by intense sun, alkaline soil, or late spring freezes that often require replacement.
Few flowers or food sources for wildlife, offering little ecological value.
Higher long-term maintenance costs from water, fertilizers, lawn care, and plant replacements.
Kentucky bluegrass lawn that needs frequent irrigation, mowing, fertilizing, and seasonal repairs.
Imported shrubs like boxwoods or thirsty hedges that struggle through drought and winter temperature swings.
High monthly water bills during summer just to keep the lawn green.
Weekly mowing, edging, fertilizing, and weed control throughout the growing season.
Plants damaged by intense sun, alkaline soil, or late spring freezes that often require replacement.
Few flowers or food sources for wildlife, offering little ecological value.
Higher long-term maintenance costs from water, fertilizers, lawn care, and plant replacements.
For most Santa Fe homeowners, native plant landscaping is the smarter long-term investment. By replacing water-hungry lawns with beautiful Santa Fe native plants, you can lower maintenance, reduce irrigation costs, support local wildlife, and enjoy a landscape that was designed to thrive in our high-desert environment, not fight against it.
These New Mexico water-wise plants offer a complete yard transformation opportunity. Evergreen Landscape Pros can design a custom landscape that fits your property, lifestyle, and water-saving goals.
Every project begins with a visit to your property. We evaluate your soil, drainage, sun exposure, slopes, and existing landscaping while discussing your goals, budget, and maintenance preferences. This helps us recommend the best approach for beautiful, long-lasting native plant landscaping.
We create a thoughtful landscape design using New Mexico native plants selected for their water needs, mature size, seasonal color, and ecological benefits. Every native plant yard is planned to provide year-round interest while thriving in Santa Fe's high-desert climate.
Before any work begins, you'll receive a detailed, itemized proposal outlining the project scope, materials, timeline, and pricing. We believe in honest communication and transparent estimates so you can move forward with confidence and no unexpected surprises.
Our team removes water-hungry lawns and unwanted vegetation, then prepares the site through grading, soil improvements where needed, and careful bed preparation. Professional turf removal services create the healthy foundation your new landscape needs to establish and flourish.
We professionally install your selected plants, apply mulch to retain moisture, and add drip irrigation where appropriate. This efficient system supports healthy root development while creating water-smart landscaping that uses significantly less water than traditional landscapes.
Once installation is complete, we walk you through your new landscape and explain watering schedules, seasonal care, and plant establishment, so your native plants thrive for years while enjoying a landscape that's easy to maintain and built for Santa Fe.
Our native plant landscapes in Santa Fe are installed with a wide range of services that cover the whole project, start to finish:
Custom landscape designs featuring Santa Fe native plants selected for seasonal color, texture, mature growth, and water efficiency, creating beautiful outdoor spaces that naturally thrive in Santa Fe’s high-desert environment.
Replace thirsty, high-maintenance grass with attractive water-wise landscaping through our professional turf removal services, reducing irrigation needs while creating a landscape designed for New Mexico’s climate.
Create a vibrant native plant garden filled with carefully selected pollinator garden plant choices that attract bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other beneficial wildlife throughout the growing season.
Add lasting beauty and structure with plants native to New Mexico, including piñon pine, juniper, desert willow, chamisa, and other species suited to local growing conditions.
Bring natural movement and seasonal blooms to your property with plants ideal for low-water conditions, featuring colorful wildflowers and native grasses adapted to the high desert.
Keep your landscape healthy with seasonal pruning, weeding, mulch renewal, and irrigation adjustments that protect your investment while preserving the beauty of your native plant landscaping.
Choosing the right species is where a native landscape succeeds or fails, and we build every plan from New Mexico native plants proven to thrive in Santa Fe. We select species adapted to USDA Hardiness Zones 6b–7a, elevations around 7,000 feet, alkaline soils, intense sun, and just 14 inches of annual rainfall. That local expertise is the difference between a landscape that struggles and one that flourishes for decades. Some of our favorite high-desert plant choices for native plant landscapes include:
Piñon pine, one-seed juniper, and desert willow provide year-round structure, shade, and seasonal interest, while Apache plume, fernbush, and chamisa (rabbitbrush) add texture, drought tolerance, and long-lasting blooms.
Colorful penstemon, blanketflower, globe mallow, chocolate flower, salvia, and yarrow are excellent pollinator plant choices, attracting hummingbirds, native bees, and butterflies throughout the growing season.
Blue grama, little bluestem, and Indian ricegrass create natural movement, soften hardscapes, reduce erosion, and provide year-round texture while requiring very little supplemental water once established.
Sculptural prickly pear, cholla, agave, and red yucca deliver bold Southwest character with minimal maintenance, making them some of the best plants ideal for low-water conditions.
Low-growing creeping mahonia, sand verbena, and other spreading native species help suppress weeds, stabilize soil, and fill planting beds with seasonal color while reducing maintenance.
Every landscape is customized to your property’s soil, drainage, sun exposure, and aesthetic goals. By combining complementary plants native to the area, we create landscapes that look full and intentional while using a fraction of the water required by traditional lawns. These carefully selected species form the foundation of beautiful water-smart landscaping that thrives in Santa Fe’s high-desert climate. We also incorporate evergreen anchors like piñon and juniper, ensuring your landscape retains structure, texture, and visual interest through every season.
A professionally designed native plant landscape delivers lasting value well beyond its appearance. By working with nature instead of against it, you’ll enjoy lower maintenance, reduced water use, and a healthier outdoor environment for years to come.
One of the biggest advantages of native plant landscaping is reduced irrigation. Because plants native to the region are adapted to local rainfall and dry conditions, they require far less supplemental watering once established, helping homeowners save water and lower monthly utility costs.
Say goodbye to weekly mowing, constant fertilizing, and replacing struggling plants every season. Water-wise landscaping built with native species requires only occasional pruning, seasonal cleanup, and routine inspections.
A thoughtfully designed native plant yard provides nectar, seeds, shelter, and nesting areas for hummingbirds, butterflies, native bees, and songbirds. The right pollinator garden plant choices help strengthen the local ecosystem.
High-desert plant choices are naturally adapted to Santa Fe's intense sunshine, alkaline soils, freezing winters, summer heat, and seasonal monsoon rains. That means healthier plants, fewer replacements, and beauty year after year.
Many Santa Fe native plants develop deep root systems that improve soil structure, reduce erosion, and increase the ground's ability to absorb rainfall, creating healthier planting beds with fewer maintenance challenges.
Instead of a landscape that could belong anywhere, your property reflects the unique beauty of Northern New Mexico, with native trees, flowering perennials, ornamental grasses, and desert accents for lasting curb appeal.
Native plantings also pair exceptionally well with xeriscaping. Many of our clients combine the two approaches to create a customized water-focused landscaping design that maximizes beauty, minimizes water use, and thrives in Santa Fe’s unique climate.
Native plant landscaping is a practical, long-term solution for almost any property in Santa Fe and throughout Northern New Mexico. We customize every design to complement your property’s unique conditions, aesthetic goals, and maintenance preferences.
Replace thirsty lawns with beautiful, water-saving landscapes that lower irrigation needs, reduce maintenance, and create a yard filled with New Mexico native plants that thrive naturally in the high desert.
Start your property off right with a professionally planned landscape that complements your home’s architecture while avoiding costly renovations or plant replacements later.
Create elegant outdoor living spaces using carefully selected plants native to New Mexico, blending refined design with year-round texture, seasonal color, and lasting curb appeal.
Improve common areas with attractive, low-maintenance landscapes that reduce water consumption, enhance neighborhood appearance, and provide long-term value for residents.
Enjoy a landscape that remains healthy and beautiful with minimal hands-on care, making it ideal for seasonal or part-time occupancy.
Convert open acreage into resilient native meadows, wildlife habitat, and pollinator-friendly landscapes that require far less water than traditional turf.
Reduce irrigation costs, improve curb appeal, and create a professional landscape that reflects your business while standing up to Santa Fe’s challenging climate.
Whatever the size or scope of your project, we’ll design a custom landscape that fits your property, your budget, and the way you live.
From compact courtyard beds to full-property conversions, we have built native plant yards for homes throughout Santa Fe and the surrounding communities. Whether you want a tidy pollinator garden by the front door or acres of native meadow, we design at the scale that fits your property and budget. Ask to see recent native plant garden projects near you.
Every project is priced to the property, so the honest answer is that it depends. During your free consultation, we’ll evaluate your site and provide a clear, itemized written estimate. These are the biggest factors that influence the cost of native plant landscaping:
The total square footage being planted or converted is one of the largest cost factors. Larger properties require more plants, mulch, irrigation materials, labor, and installation time.
Your choice of Santa Fe native plants, mature specimen sizes, and planting density all affect the investment. Larger trees cost more initially, while younger plants are a more budget-friendly option.
Many water-wise landscaping projects include efficient drip irrigation. The system size, available water sources, and whether existing equipment can be reused all impact overall project costs.
Replacing an existing lawn involves more than removing grass. Our turf removal services include stripping sod, hauling debris, preparing the soil, and creating the proper foundation.
Decorative gravel, natural boulders, flagstone pathways, edging, and dry creek beds add character, improve drainage, and help create an authentic Santa Fe high-desert landscape.
Before planting, we may recommend grading, drainage improvements, erosion control, or soil amendments so your plants native to the region establish healthy root systems.
Because native plant landscaping requires significantly less irrigation, mowing, fertilizing, and plant replacement than a traditional lawn, many homeowners discover it costs less to own over the long term, even when the initial investment is similar. We’ll walk you through every line of your estimate, answer your questions, and recommend options that fit your goals and budget.
Homeowners choose us because we live and work in this landscape, and it shows in the plans we draw:
We know which local native plants thrive in your specific soil and microclimate.
Native plant design and water-saving landscaping are what we do every day.
Fully licensed and insured for residential and commercial work in New Mexico.
A Santa Fe team that knows our seasons, soils, and water rules.
A 4.8-star rating across 18 verified reviews and a reputation for honest, tidy work.
We can point you toward local rebates for turf removal and water-wise upgrades.
We source from regional native growers, steer clients away from invasive non-natives, and design according to the same water-wise principles our city and state encourage, so your landscape is built both to last and to belong.
We are based at 105 Cienega St in downtown Santa Fe and install native plant yards across the region, including the communities below, plus more than eighteen Northern New Mexico communities. If you are nearby and do not see your town listed, call us anyway: we very likely serve your area.
If you do not see your town on our map, reach out. As we often serve many individuals from outside this area!
Native plant landscaping is one part of our water-wise work. Explore our related services:
Low-water design and desert landscaping.
Custom water-wise design plans.
Hardy plants for the high desert.
Stone, gravel, patios, and walls.
Efficient drip lines and drainage.
Keep it all thriving year-round.
The initial cost of native plant landscaping is often comparable to a professionally installed traditional landscape. However, because native plants require less irrigation, mowing, fertilizing, and replacement, most homeowners enjoy significantly lower maintenance costs and water bills over the life of the landscape.
Not at all. A professionally designed native plant yard is carefully planned with complementary colors, textures, bloom times, and mature plant sizes. The result is a polished, intentional landscape that offers year-round beauty while fitting naturally into Santa Fe’s high-desert environment.
Savings depend on your existing landscape, but replacing a traditional lawn with New Mexico native plants, efficient drip irrigation, and water-smart landscaping can often reduce outdoor water use by 50% or more once the landscape is fully established.
Yes. One of the biggest benefits of landscaping with native plants is creating valuable habitat for native bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and songbirds. Many native flowers provide nectar and shelter that local wildlife depends on throughout the growing season.
Most plants native to New Mexico establish strong root systems within one to two growing seasons. As they mature, your landscape becomes fuller, healthier, and more colorful each year while requiring less water and maintenance than traditional plantings.
Some of the best Santa Fe native plants include piñon pine, one-seed juniper, chamisa, Apache plume, globe mallow, penstemon, blue grama grass, and desert willow. The right combination depends on your property’s sunlight, soil, drainage, and design goals.
Absolutely. Our professional turf removal services remove existing grass and prepare the site for a beautiful native landscape. We then install carefully selected plants, mulch, and efficient irrigation to create a durable, low-maintenance outdoor space.
Yes. Once established, native plants typically need much less watering, fertilizing, pruning, and replacement than non-native landscapes. Regular seasonal maintenance helps keep your landscape healthy, but ongoing care is significantly reduced compared to a traditional lawn.
Yes. Every project is custom-designed to fit your property’s sun exposure, soil conditions, drainage, architecture, and budget. We never use one-size-fits-all plans, ensuring your landscape is both beautiful and perfectly suited to Santa Fe’s climate.
Since 2019, Evergreen Landscape Pros has specialized in creating beautiful native plant landscaping designed specifically for Santa Fe’s high-desert conditions. We combine local expertise, thoughtful design, quality installation, and transparent pricing to create landscapes that conserve water, reduce maintenance, and thrive for years to come.
We visit your property, assess your soil and slope, and provide a written estimate at no cost.
Create a beautiful, low-maintenance yard that’s built for Santa Fe’s high-desert climate. Evergreen Landscape Pros designs and installs custom native plant landscaping using New Mexico native plants that conserve water, support local wildlife, and enhance curb appeal. Call (505) 375-6901 or request your free estimate online to schedule your free on-site consultation and detailed written estimate.
