Sustainable Gardens

 Creating beautiful, sustainable gardens is a job that I love. I have found that over the years requests for more environmentally friendly gardens have become the norm instead of the odd request.
Although the drought officially “ended” last year, we must realize that California is just between droughts never truly out of one. We have not gotten much rainfall this winter and we are seriously in need.
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?
Creating a beautiful sustainable garden is fun. Start with a little research. There is plenty of information available these days on the Internet, in books, and even right in our community. SCV Water and all the water companies offer help and rebates.
Take a hike! When you hike spend some time looking at what we have growing in the hills of Santa Clarita. Then ask yourself, how often do you see hills covered with grass, Iceberg roses, and Lily of the Nile? Never… but that is what you see in many of the yards of Santa Clarita. Our California rainfall could never sustain that, even in a great year.
Here are the steps to start this process:
1. Assess your needs
2. Look at your irrigation system (simpler modifications are more cost-effective).
3. Get inspiration from books and online sources like Houzz.com, Pinterest and Google.
4. Decide what features you want to include.
5. Educate yourself on plant material.
6. Plan, Plan, Plan before you plant, plant, plant.
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 online at: www.thegrassisalwaysgreener.net.