Laying out a backyard with turf, rock and planted beds: what goes where

01How much of the backyard should be turf?

Start from what the turf is for, not the outline of the old lawn. Draw each use at its real size: the play lawn, the dog’s route from the back door, a putting green, a spot for chairs. Join them into one or two simple shapes; the rest becomes beds, rock or patio.

CSU Extension’s list of lawn that is hardest to water and maintain doubles as a list of places turf seldom pays off: along fences, on slopes, in corners, in narrow strips beside a walk, and in irregular shapes (CSU Fact Sheet 7.234). CSU means living grass, but the same spots turn artificial turf into long edges and slivers to cut and anchor. The Colorado Geological Survey’s guide for homes on swelling soil recommends much the same mix: rock “only in selected areas of the yard,” gravel edgings, groundcover, and “perhaps a limited central area of lawn” (CGS SP-14).

The turf is probably too big if it runs right to the fence, fills corners nobody walks to, reaches south- or west-facing windows where reflected sun can melt fibers, or runs under a tree’s canopy. Measuring and the Firestone arithmetic are in how much artificial turf you need; front yards follow their own rules (front-yard design with turf).

02What goes in the first 5 feet around the house?

On most Northern Colorado lots, rock or pavers, for three separate reasons:

• Clay. The Colorado Geological Survey says no flowers or shrubs within 5 feet of the foundation unless they need very little water and are hand watered, and no sprinkler spray inside 5 feet, a rule CSU Extension repeats (PlantTalk 1617). It calls gravel over non-woven fabric, at least 5 feet wide, an effective way to keep water out of the soil against the foundation.
• Roof water. The survey wants downspouts emptying at least 5 feet out, through an extension that stays down, not pulled off so runoff waters a flower bed.
• Wildfire. The Colorado State Forest Service counts a home in or near grassland, shrubland or foothills as wildland-urban interface, and wants its first 5 feet in rock, gravel, pavers or another hard, nonflammable surface, with shrubs and mulch cleared (CSFS Home Ignition Zone guide). Turf that close on such a lot is covered in is artificial turf flammable.

Keep the band a band: CSU advises against “large areas of unshaded rock next to a house” because stone stores and radiates heat (PlantTalk 1905). Where a neighborhood wants planting at the house anyway, as Heron Lakes in Berthoud does with “significant foundation plantings” at the entry and sides, choose very low-water plants, water them sparingly and keep spray heads 5 feet back.

03Where do planted beds work better than turf?

• Along property lines in Firestone, by code. Turf must stop at least 3 feet from any property line, with permeable, living and organic landscape in between (Firestone Development Code 16.6.4). Draw that strip as a real bed, not a leftover.
• Five feet out from hot south and west walls. The U.S. EPA says vegetation lowers surface and air temperatures by shading and evapotranspiration (EPA); turf in the same spot takes the reflected heat (how hot artificial turf gets).
• Where the yard needs screening, shelter or a view. Heron Lakes’ rules say most beds should do a job: screening, privacy, framing views, defining outdoor spaces, blocking wind or sun, holding soil. They want perimeter planting with openings, not a “wall” of vegetation, and golf-course lots landscaped for the view from the course.
• Around trees, whose watering has its own guide: watering trees after turf.

Fewer, larger beds mean fewer turf edges. CSU says plants with different water needs shouldn’t share an irrigation zone, so group beds into hydrozones, each on its own drip schedule, and warns that new xeriscapes need regular weeding.

04Where does rock earn its place?

• Leftovers: side-yard strips, behind the garage, corners where turf would be a sliver, which CSU suggests turning into xeric plantings or hardscape; see turf in a side yard.
• Mulch in the beds. Heron Lakes requires at least 3 inches of shredded wood or rock mulch. On a windy Northern Colorado lot rock stays put: CSU says wood chips can turn water-repellent in intense sun and blow away in persistent wind, and that stone works as mulch below about half an inch (CSU Extension, Mulching).
• Where the snow gets piled. CSU says small shrubs flattened by snow piles may need corrective pruning (PlantTalk 1754), so leave the spot beside the drive to rock or low groundcover.
• Feature boulders, set in beds rather than in turf, where each adds an edge to cut around. Some HOAs cap them (see the table below).
• Not the whole yard. The geology survey says trading grass for rock raises runoff and radiated heat, which in summer “can be comparable to living in the middle of a parking lot.” Rock-only against turf is compared in artificial turf vs xeriscape; a dog run, in pea gravel vs turf.

05What limits do Firestone and neighborhood rules set?

Firestone allows turf on a single-family lot “if integrated into the overall landscape design and subject to Town approval,” with a town permit first. Turf may cover up to 75% of the rear or side yard, but live plants must cover 50% of the combined side and rear yards and turf can’t count toward that, so backyard turf usually tops out around half, less after the 3-foot buffer. Not legal advice: it depends on how the Town measures your yards, so ask Firestone Planning.

Neighborhood design rules can be tighter than any town code, and some count rock and turf against one allowance:

Not legal advice. Colorado law bars an HOA from prohibiting artificial turf in a detached home’s backyard but lets it adopt design guidelines, and makes covenant or special-district rules that prohibit backyard turf unenforceable, except for attached homes and timeshares (SB23-178). Whether a percentage cap is a guideline or a partial ban looks untested; if one blocks your layout, ask a Colorado attorney. The review steps are in HOA approval for artificial turf.

06Can the planted part earn a rebate?

Possibly; the programs pay toward plants, not turf. Fort Collins Utilities’ Xeriscape Incentive Program pays $0.75 a square foot, up to 1,000 square feet or $750, and wants a landscape plan, a watering plan, a plant list and a staff meeting before any lawn comes out (XIP). Little Thompson Water District customers can get up to $750 off Resource Central’s removal of at least 200 square feet of lawn for water-wise planting; the 2026 program is closed (LTWD). Draw the beds as their own area if you plan to apply; turf rebates in Northern Colorado has every provider.

07What should the layout drawing show before anyone digs?

One dimensioned plan that the turf installer, the landscaper and the review committee all work from; Kitchel Lake’s rules, for one, want rock areas, planting beds, mulch areas and edging drawn. Ask for:

• Square feet and percentages of turf, beds, rock and hardscape, checked against town and HOA limits.
• The 5-foot band around the house, and in Firestone the 3-foot buffer.
• Every edge and its material. Firestone requires bender board, concrete curbing or similar between turf and other landscape areas; see artificial turf edging.
• Drip zones by water need, and which sprinkler zones get capped.
• Downspout outlets and swales, kept open. The geology survey lists patios, fences and other obstructions that dam and pond water among the mistakes behind swelling-soil damage.
• The order of work when several trades share the yard: see outdoor living around turf.

A good answer is a drawing with the percentages on it; a lone square-foot figure for the turf leaves the rest to guesswork. For the turf itself, see artificial turf installation.