3 cool plant projects

Colorado cities are putting their water-wise landscaping advice into practice with new projects, plus one decades-old example.

📍 Denver: Parks and Rec crews last month replaced bluegrass in Congress Park, pictured above, with a native garden designed to thrive through drought.

📍 Aurora: The city is currently replacing the Great Lawn outside City Hall with drought-tolerant Bermudagrass.

📍 Colorado Springs: Its Water Wise Demonstration Garden has spent 35 years showing residents what sustainable landscaping can look like — and recently won the American Public Gardens Association's 2026 Garden Excellence Award, its highest honor for public gardens.