Being creative with landscaping is an unorthodox method of surviving a drought.
Water restrictions make it hard to turn an entire lawn green during droughts and people end up cutting down the watering of grass. A simple way to conserve water and maintain green grass is to decorate more with things like statuaries and stones. The reasoning for this is that the more statuaries and stones there are in a yard, the less amount of lawn needed to be covered by grass.
If you are looking to sell your home, keeping your house clean and painted can keep the focus on the structure of the home, making sure the inside of the home is appealing can compensate for a dried-up lawn.