Book excerpt: The Complete Guide for Creating a Beautiful, Eco-friendly, Water-Wise, Low Maintenance Front Yard With increased drought conditions and water restrictions, many homeowners are choosing to let their lawns die, but do not know what to do next. People are seeking green and "green" alternatives that are attractive, affordable and easy to maintain. This book is designed to provide the reader with a recipe for designing their own custom, beautiful and eco-friendly front yard. Like a recipe, there can be limitless variations in ingredients, flavors and presentation but the basic steps always apply. The author takes the reader from Getting Started, where she shows how to create a base plan, drawn to scale on grid paper, which will become the foundation for Defining Your Vision, Creating Your Design, Selecting Your Plants, Accessorizing Your Yard, and finally, Installing Your Design.