Wide Open Space, Finished Right: New Construction Landscaping in Falcon, Colorado

Falcon is one of the fastest-growing areas in El Paso County, and it is not hard to understand why. Larger lots, newer homes, more space between neighbors, and a quiet, semi-rural character that the closer-in Colorado Springs neighborhoods can no longer offer. For buyers who want room — room for the kids to run, room for a real garden, room for an outdoor living space that does not feel compressed — Falcon is where they are going.

The challenge with larger lots is that the blank-slate new construction backyard problem is magnified. Instead of a modest rear yard waiting to be finished, Falcon homeowners are often looking at a quarter acre or more of graded dirt with a distant fence line and no clear sense of where to start.

We work with new construction homeowners in Falcon regularly, and the first conversation is always the same: let’s figure out what you actually want to use, and build that first. The rest can follow.

Understanding the Falcon Landscape Context

Falcon sits on the plains east of Colorado Springs, at a lower elevation than the city and with a distinctly different character. The views tend to be long and horizontal — flat to rolling terrain, distant peaks to the west, big sky. The native plant palette reflects the semi-arid environment: drought-tolerant grasses, scrub vegetation, and the occasional cottonwood along drainage corridors.

New construction in Falcon tends to produce yards that need more deliberate design than urban lots because the surrounding landscape provides less visual context. In a dense neighborhood, the mature trees and established landscaping of adjacent properties help frame a new yard and make it feel situated. On a Falcon lot, the yard can feel exposed and undefined until the landscape does that work for itself.

This is actually an opportunity. Falcon homeowners have the space to design an outdoor environment that urban lot owners cannot — and with the right approach, that space becomes a genuine asset rather than a maintenance burden.

Large-Scale Paver Patios and Outdoor Living Zones

Falcon’s larger lots support outdoor living areas at a scale that is simply not feasible in closer-in neighborhoods. We regularly design and install patios in the 800 to 1,500 square foot range for Falcon clients — spaces that accommodate a full outdoor kitchen, a seating area around a fire feature, a dining zone, and transition space to the yard, all within a unified design.

As certified Unilock contractors, we bring the same installation standards to large-format projects that we apply to every project: proper base depth, compacted gravel sub-base, polymeric joint sand, and edge restraint throughout. A large patio that is not installed correctly develops problems across its entire surface. The investment in preparation scales with the project, but so does the consequence of skipping it.

For Falcon projects, we frequently incorporate our pedestal paver system in areas where drainage across a large surface needs to be carefully managed. Pedestal pavers drain freely beneath the surface by design, which is particularly valuable on large patio areas where water management would otherwise require careful grading and potentially trench drains.

Retaining Walls and Grade Transitions

Falcon lots, while generally flatter than the foothills to the west, often include grade transitions — particularly between the home’s foundation level and the rear yard, or where drainage swales cross the property. Retaining walls address those transitions structurally while creating the planting beds, raised seating areas, and visual interest that a flat yard otherwise lacks.

We build retaining walls in boulder, block, and combination systems depending on the scale of the wall, the aesthetic preference, and the soil conditions. Boulder walls in particular suit the Falcon landscape well — the natural stone character feels appropriate to the semi-rural environment and tends to age gracefully in a way that manufactured block sometimes does not.

Every retaining wall we build includes proper drainage behind the wall. This is the most commonly skipped step in residential retaining wall construction, and it is the reason most wall failures eventually occur. Hydrostatic pressure from water accumulating behind an undrained wall eventually moves the wall, regardless of how well the visible face was constructed.

Fire Features and Outdoor Gathering Spaces

On a Falcon lot with a large patio and long views to the west, a well-positioned fire feature becomes the evening focal point in a way that is hard to replicate on a smaller urban lot. We design fire pits and gas fire tables as part of the overall patio composition — positioned to take advantage of the view, protected from the prevailing wind where possible, and scaled to the seating area around them.

One consideration specific to Falcon and the eastern plains: wind. The area gets consistent wind, particularly in spring and fall, and an outdoor fire feature that works beautifully on a calm evening needs to be positioned and designed with the wind in mind. We talk through wind exposure on every site visit and factor it into the design before the patio layout is established.

Water Features

Falcon homeowners with larger lots sometimes have the space and budget to incorporate a water feature — a recirculating stream, a small pond, or a pondless waterfall — that would be impractical on a smaller urban lot. Water features in the Colorado plains context do something interesting: they introduce the sound and visual quality of mountain streams into an environment that lacks them naturally, creating a sense of retreat that complements the big-sky character of the landscape.

We design and install water features as integrated landscape elements rather than standalone decorations. The water feature should feel like it belongs to the yard — fed by the grade, bordered by appropriate planting, and connected to the overall outdoor living composition.

Outdoor Lighting for Large Properties

Lighting a larger Falcon property requires a different approach than lighting a typical urban lot. The scale means more fixture locations, longer wire runs, and a design that creates cohesion across a larger area. The goal is to light what matters — the patio, the pathways, the specimen plantings, the architectural features of the home — without over-lighting the property in a way that feels institutional.

We design lighting systems for Falcon properties that work with the dark-sky character of the area. Falcon’s distance from the city center means genuinely dark nights, and a well-designed lighting system creates a warm, welcoming glow without overwhelming the surrounding environment. Bollard path lights, low-profile ground fixtures, and carefully aimed uplighting on key features are the tools we use most frequently.

Trees and Large-Scale Planting

The most impactful single investment on a large Falcon lot is often tree placement. A property with no established trees feels exposed and undefined, regardless of how well the hardscape is executed. A property with a thoughtfully placed group of trees — positioned to provide shade over the patio, screening from the road or neighboring property, and visual anchors at the corners of the yard — feels settled and complete.

In Falcon, we typically recommend species that perform well in the semi-arid, higher-wind environment: Austrian pine, ponderosa pine, Colorado blue spruce for evergreen screening, and ornamental trees like serviceberry or hawthorn for seasonal interest. We advocate strongly for investing in larger specimens — a six to eight-foot pine at installation provides immediate presence, while a two-foot specimen will take years to contribute meaningfully to the design.

Phasing Large Falcon Projects

Not every Falcon homeowner wants to tackle the full outdoor environment in a single project. A large lot means a larger investment, and a phased approach is often the right answer — completing the primary outdoor living area first, then adding planting and trees in subsequent seasons, and finishing the perimeter and ancillary areas as the budget allows.

We help clients think through phasing in a way that makes practical sense: what do you want to be using this summer, and what can wait? The patio, the fire feature, and the primary seating area typically come first. The lighting should be installed at the same time, even if the planting is deferred. Trees and shrubs can be added incrementally as budget allows, and the perimeter can be finished last.

The key is designing the full vision upfront, even if the execution is phased. That way, each phase builds coherently toward the completed project rather than requiring rework to accommodate what comes next.

Ready to Start Planning Your Falcon Outdoor Space?

AG Landscaping works with new construction homeowners throughout Falcon, Peyton, and the eastern El Paso County corridor. If you have moved into a new home and are ready to start designing your outdoor space — whether you want to start with a patio and fire feature or plan the full property — we would be glad to visit the site and talk through what is possible. Request a free consultation today.