It's Xeriscape, not Zeroscape.  It doesn't mean gravel and a few cactus.  The word was coined by the city of Denver in the sixties and defined as a lifestyle with conservation as a main goal.  Your landscaping can be a big part of your lifestyle.  Your landscape can be a drunk, or fit and responsible. In the old days with foundation hedges and two trees, you were left with 95% lawn.  Lawns use up the most water, and water should be conserved.  So the Xeriscape model shoots at:
     1/3 lawn
     1/3 beds
     1/3 hardscape

Lawns
Cutting down from 95% to 33% is huge.  95% to 0% can be ugly.  Excuse me, "Harsh" is a kinder word.  Also I always say it doesn't matter what I think; I don't live there. You do.  My advice could be worth what you're paying for it (nothing).  Assuming you'll have some grass, what are your options?

Turffalo is a new hybrid buffalo grass that's the perfect combination of drought tolerance, texture, and growth.  Rather than rewrite it all, go to TURFFALO.com.  We also (and the Turffalo people) have ShadowTurf.  It will grow in filtered shade, but not in the dark.  There has to be some sunshine to grow any kind of grass.

Putting one inch of water on your lawn once a week will grow great grass even in the heat of summer - and even for St. Augustine!  Questions may arise: How do I know when I've put an inch on?  How do I do it without half of it running off?  Way to be thinking!  Great question!  The only way to know how much water your sprinkler system or sprinklers are putting out is to measure them with rain guages (tin cans)  Put at least three (five is better), run the water for fifteen minutes, measure the water in the cans, average it out (addthe inches up in all the cans and divide by the number of cans), and you have how many inches you are applying per quarter hour (fifteen minutes).  If it's a quarter inch, it will take an hour to put on an inch, if a third 45 minutes, if a half 30 minutes, etc.

Now about preventing run off:  If you have a sprinkler system, cut the needed time in half and run through the zones again immediately after the first rotation ends.  Also, and even better, is to use Olive's OIL.  It's a Bio-Stimulant that has penetrating soaps that get water deeper and faster in your soil.  It's been working for over twenty years.  You should be using it.  A quart covers 5,000 square feet and costs $14.99 (dollar off on refills) and a gallon covers 20,000 sq ft and costs 44.99 ($3 off on a gallon refill)

Beds
Beds take much less water than grass. They are more expensive to install, but save you in the long run.  One expense you shouldn't avoid is mulching.  In a 10 foot by 10 foot area sixty gallons of water can evaporate in one day.  If it is mulched, there is now evaporation!  Instead of watering ever day or two and still having stressed plants, water weekly or less (after establishment) and have healthy plants with mulch.  I like to think of mulch as a sack of shade you are spreading out over your soil.  As shrubs get bigger and ground covers get thicker, they provide more and more of their own shade, so you begin to need less mulch.  I like mulch that decomposes like Pine Bark Mulch (not bark chips) because that feeds the soil organisms and improves the texture and fertility of your soil.  Mulch also keeps the soil temperature down in the summer and up in the winter.  If you are designing a new back yard I suggest starting with a plan on paper before you begin planting or putting in edging that defines beds.  We have a free grid sheet for you to use.  When you design remember that thew goal is 1/3 bed area!  We can help you with what to put in the areas.  And with preparing the soil.  There is good info on this under "Bed Prep" under the "Seasonal Info" tab.

Hardscapes
Hardscape are driveways, decks, patios, gravel areas, etc.  The goal is 1/3, not 100%!  My experience is that gravel areas are very maintenance free if installed correctly FOR ABOUT FIVE YEARS!  By then enough dust has blown in on top of the fabric to grow most weeds and grass.  Anyone with a gravel area should routinely walk the area with a sprayer of Round UP.  The best way to buy Round Up is called Quick-Pro, a dry packet that makes one gallon of liquid.  We sell it at Olive's!!!

Plant Selection
This has been quite a year to test Zeriscape plants!  I got 1 1/2 inches of rain over 13 months.  Deserts get more than that!  So I'm listing the plants I thought proved themselves as winners:

Caesalpinia pulcherrima  or  Pride of Barbados Mexican Bird of Paradise
     These are the 3 to 6 foot shrubs that have the spectacular orange-red blooms.  They have been beautiful all summer and fall.  Without a doubt they have been incredible!

Tecoma stans  or  Gold Star or Esparanza or Yellow Bells
     These guys have bloomed without ceasing since late spring!  Growing 3 to 5 feet and having clusters of bright yellow blooms above attractive green foliage makes these a big winner.  No bugs, no burned leaves, no chlorotic yellow leaves, just gorgeous yellow blooms all the time!!!

Lantana  many varieties
     Lantana never burned off or looked bad.  I'll admit it took the August rain to make them spectacular.  I like to plant the white and lavender trailing varieties touching in the same hole or pot and intertwine their branches.  You get a stunning mix of blooms!

Anisacanthus  or  Red Flame Acanthus or the original Hummingbird Bush!
     The orangy-red blooms are consistant and easy.  I'll admit they looked twice as good after the rain, but they looked good before too.  And not much else did!  These guys are alittle agressive and can spread.  They are tough!