Gregory and Lora Garner's landscape was ready for the drought long before current watering restrictions, and they haven't a rain barrel to their name.

By using their driveway and a landscaping pal's keen plant selection, the Suwanee couple keeps a drought-tolerant, low-maintenance and lush landscape practically year-round.

Shannon Pable / Special (ENLARGE)

The Garner's use the shape of their landscape to aid the flow of rainwater and minimize hand-watering.

Hyosub Shin / AJC (ENLARGE)

Lora Garner strolls along a walkway of her Suwanee home's landscape, which is a mix of plants and attractive rocks.

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And the Garners are no gardeners. "If it was a high-maintenance garden, it would be dead," said Shannon Pable, their friend and landscaping guru.

Lora, an interior designer, and Gregory, a computer consultant, said they needed a low-maintenance landscape for their lifestyle. The couple moved to Suwanee in 1996 from New Hampshire.

"We don't want to take a lot of extra effort," Gregory Garner said.

The water-wise gardening overhaul began in 2001, when Pable first helped the Garners convert the builder-grade front lawn into a more attractive, self-sufficient landscape.

First, she identified the flow of rainwater from the street and driveway and planted accordingly, allowing runoff to nourish the plants and saving the Garners from frequent hand-watering.

Choosing the right plants at the right location was the next step. Pable, a master gardener and member of the Georgia Native Plant Society, relied on drought-hardy, sun-loving plants in the front of the Garners' home. Some plants are native, others exotic, but all are drought tolerant once established, she said.

Loropetalum and 'Yellow ribbon' arborvitae flank the Garners' driveway. Black-eyed susans, zebra grass and a coral bark Japanese maple are counted among the perennials, trees and shrubs nestled along the front of the home. Some of those receive water from the downspouts on the house in addition to driveway runoff.

"This is a good landscape because they don't have to do much — some water, edging and 'weed and feed,'" she said. "It's very hardy."

Pable's work didn't end there. In 2006, she helped Gregory Garner rip out the backyard slope of juniper and fescue, replacing it with a colorful, appealing mix of rocks and plants, such as lavender, rosemary, and carpet roses. Pable said the flow of water down the driveway made the hill an ideal location for a rock garden, especially as the boulders help control erosion.

"I like my landscapes to be 50 percent rocks and 50 percent plants," she said.

The sloping rock garden curves alongside stone stairs, leading down to the Garners' backyard. A weeping cherry and a deodar cedar highlight the garden and provide protection for the only shade-requiring plant Pable used in her design — coral bells.

Lora said the rock garden has thrived in its two years.

"It just works. The water flows down the way [Shannon] set it up," she said.

Greg added he hopes to redirect the downspout on the corner of his house into the garden for added watering.

Pable didn't turn onto water-conscious gardening as a result of Atlanta's drought problems, she said. A native of California, Pable said she grew up with watering restrictions and learned from her mother how to maintain an easy low-water landscape. Then, when buying her two-acre property in Buford a decade ago, Pable used self-sufficient plant materials.

"It was out of a need for low maintenance, instead of trying to be water-wise," she said. "My rule [when it comes to plants is] — I will water you until you are established, and then you are on your own."

TIPS FROM THE GARNERS' GARDEN

Work with Mother Nature: If you have a wet area, use water-loving plants. Conversely, drought-tolerant plants are best for dry zones.

Observe the flow of runoff —try to channel water to the low point in your yard, making sure it's not directly beside your home.

Use attractive rocks for aesthetic appeal and erosion control.

Timing is everything: Planting perennials in the fall allows them to better establish; spend May through August prepping soil, planning your garden and hardscaping your property.

Source: Shannon Pable. For more information about Pable, visit www.shannonpable.com.