What is a Localscape?
Localscapes is Utah's own free landscape design standard — a specific pattern for a usable, water-wise yard, not just a generic 'less lawn' idea.
Localscapes is a free landscape design standard developed specifically for Utah by the state's Division of Water Resources. It's not a generic national 'xeriscape' template — it's a concrete pattern built around how Utah homeowners actually use their yards and how much water this state's climate and supply can support.
The actual pattern
A Localscape design centers on a single, connected open lawn shape — sized to how the space actually gets used, up to roughly 35% of the yard in northern Utah — rather than lawn scattered across the whole property in odd strips and corners. Around that central shape, the pattern calls for defined planting beds, clear paths connecting activity areas, and no lawn at all in narrow strips under 8 feet wide, like a typical park strip.
Why the specific pattern matters
A lot of contractors use 'Localscape' loosely to describe any low-water yard. The actual value of the standard is in the pattern itself — a single usable lawn shape sized correctly, paths and beds that make the rest of the yard functional, not just decorative rock. A yard that follows the real pattern ends up both more water-wise and more usable than one that just has less grass in it.
Getting started
If you're considering a Localscapes-style redesign, the state's Division of Water Resources publishes a free DIY series walking through the pattern step by step. If you'd rather have it designed and built to the actual standard rather than DIY it, that's exactly what our Localscapes design service covers.