It has become official; we can no longer close our eyes to the fact that we don’t have enough water to act like we live in England. So many of the homes in Santa Clarita are modeled after the English Garden Style, in that they have tons of green lawn and cute little annual color borders but that really isn’t sustainable any longer.
Regardless of the fact that we “might” have an El Nino this year, it is time for us to take a good look at where we live and realize that we have to make changes to our lawns and our yards. Reducing the amount of lawn that we have can make a huge difference in California, by adding a beautiful palette of low water using, Mediterranean climate appropriate plants that will attract pollinators that will actually improve our community. Lawns create a huge amount of pollution, air and noise (think blowers and lawnmowers) and water (think chemical run-off). But how do we do it?
It is easy! September is hot and the perfect time for you to do some research, planning, and design in preparation for a fall or winter planting that will be ecologically sound, water wise, and beautiful.
Do a little research. There is plenty of information available these days on the Internet, in books, and even right in our community. CLWA and all the water companies offer help and rebates!
If you need extra help, my blog alone has many articles on water wise plants, fire resistant plants and even how to get inspiration. I know I’m not the only one out there writing about this stuff, so find someone that speaks to your view and contact him or her if you need a little extra help.
Take some time these next six to eight weeks to plan your new gardens because come the end of October you likely have five months of great planting time. A little bit of good design, some research and you are good to go!
Julie Molinare is a certified Landscape Designer living in the Santa Clarita for over 15 years. Julie taught the Introduction to Landscape Design Class at CSUN Tseng College of Extended Learning and is owner/designer of The Grass Is Always Greener Designs.
For more information, please call 661-917-3521 and visit www.thegrassisalwaysgreener.net – make sure to visit the blog page to sign up for information and garden reminders.