It Is Time We Were All a Bit More Water Wise

When you are ready to create a beautiful, sustainable garden that will improve the community and the earth; you should decide who you want to work with based on what they know. If you are interested in that kind of a garden, keep reading. Most of the garden maintenance services and local mow/blow guys don’t know much about water conservation. You can see so-called gardeners holding their thumbs over the ends of hoses; sprinkling water wherever it looks dry and thinking they’ve helped the plants grow. It is time to learn a little something to help your garden and our planet.
That is where education comes in. There is quite a bit of free information around to help you do your part. There are water conservation web sites and community programs start with Santa Clarita Water, and irrigation suppliers such as Ewing and Aquaflow who give out reliable, free advice on what works and what doesn’t. And there are professionals that have studied Landscape Design and Sustainability and know how to create these beautiful gardens.
It is time to take a look at your yard, turn it into a garden with beautiful water wise plants, capturing the water from your roof, and building up the soil. These three steps are part of Watershed Garden Design Principles and will do a lot to get you closer to a beautiful low water garden. One that looks like it belongs in our climate and is beautiful all year round.
You can also have free water for your garden! You can put a bucket into your shower and collect the water instead of letting it run down the drain, I do, and it is easy to use that water within your garden. You can also investigate setting up a gray water system, using your clothes washer run off. Think about an alternative to letting the rain run off the roof and impermeable driveway, where it is wastefully disposed into drains and gutters that flow to our creeks, carrying a load of urban pollutants. I capture mine in a rain garden, it makes more sense to naturally filter and retain the water on-site using swales and dry creeks. I rarely water in the winter at all. It is a beautiful feature and adds to the overall design of a garden.
A beautiful, sustainable garden is not out of reach – it just takes a little knowledge and guidance.
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 661-917-3521 www.thegrassisalwaysgreener.net – make sure to visit the blog page to sign up for information and garden reminders.