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Native plant-sustainability-garden-landscapetracting pollinators like hummingbirds and butterflies. Image: Water Authority plant installation

Setting Objectives for Waterwise Landscaping Success

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It takes time to learn about the concepts behind the watershed approach to creating a healthy and sustainable landscape. Once you have these concepts mastered, the most important step of all comes next.  Consider the goals you want to achieve in your garden for landscaping success.

It might be difficult to know where to start. Many people accept an ocean of green but thirsty lawn and never give much thought to landscaping goals. Consider one of these worthy objectives.

Waving goodbye to grass

Most native Southern California plants do well in hotter temperatures, so summer plant care is easy with a little planning. Photo: Annie Spratt/Pixabay

Most native Southern California plants do well in hotter temperatures, so summer plant care is easy with a little planning. Photo: Annie Spratt/Pixabay

  • Removing a thirsty lawn without using any chemicals, in a way that preserves the healthy soil microbes
  • Planting local California native plants that will attract birds, butterflies, and bees for pollination
  • Creating a child or pet-friendly garden without thorns or sticky grass seed heads
  • Planting fruit trees, edible vines, and shrubs, or vegetable gardens

Using irrigation efficiently

Well designed and operated irrigation systems can reliably deliver the water your landscaping needs without waste or excess. Photo: AxxLC/Pixabay

Well designed and operated irrigation systems can reliably deliver the water your landscaping needs without waste or excess. Photo: AxxLC/Pixabay

Building healthy living soil that will act like a sponge, even if it rains a lot

Capturing all the rainwater from the roof and re-routing downspouts to fill rain barrels instead of running onto hardscaping

Converting spray irrigation to micro or drip irrigation, with the intention of turning it off after establishing your waterwise landscaping

Making pathways and driveways more permeable

Making your landscaping an art project

San Marcos resident Jeff Moore's landscape makeover won recognition in the 2018 Landscape Makeover Contest. Photo: Water Authority

San Marcos resident Jeff Moore’s landscape makeover including artistic touches won recognition in the 2018 Landscape Makeover Contest. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority

Making room for a small patio with room for an outdoor table or seating

Adding pathways, Zen gardens, and interesting materials and patterns

Integrating beautiful objects such as an art piece, interesting container collection, or items like sundials

One goal we can all support: creating a beautiful sustainable landscape that reduces your water use by 70 percent or more. We can all agree on this definition of landscaping success no matter your individual goals.

This article is part of a year-long series inspired by the 71-page Sustainable Landscapes Program guidebook. The Water Authority and its partners also offer other great resources for landscaping upgrades, including free WaterSmart classes at WaterSmartSD.org.

A Desert City Tries to Save Itself with Rain

/in , , /by /Bloomberg CityLabby Chris Malloy

In an average year, Brad Lancaster can harvest enough rain to meet 95% of his water needs. Roof runoff collected in tanks on his modest lot in Tucson, Arizona — where 100 degree days are common in the summer months — provides what he needs to bathe, cook and drink.

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City College Prof Collects Rainwater On Mt. Helix

/in , /by /San Diego Readerby Dryw Keltz

Chris Baron purchased a home on Mt. Helix in 2007. The house sat on a half-acre of land, so he would have a rather large canvas to work with when it came to landscaping. He had some native plants early on and eventually bought some fruit trees. He wanted to plant more trees, but watering was expensive. To make matters worse, the state was in the midst of the 2012-2017 drought. In order to increase his orchard, he would have to think creatively. With the help of a friend who had some experience, he stepped into the soggy realm of rainwater collection.

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California Wastes So Much Of Its Rainwater. Here’s Why

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Hannah Fry and Alejandra Reyes-Velarde

California’s wet winter has dumped an estimated 18 trillion gallons of rain in February alone. But much of it is simply going down the drain. In what has become a source of much concern in a state prone to droughts and water shortages, the vast majority of rainwater in urban areas flows into storm drains and is eventually lost to the Pacific Ocean.

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Capture as much rainfall runoff as you can and put it to use as landscape irrigation. Photo: StevePB/Creative Commons rainfall as resoure

Rainwater as a Resource for Your Landscaping

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During the rainy season, runoff from hard surfaces around the home such as roofs and patios can be directed to the permeable landscaping. By capturing as much rainwater as possible in the soil, it is possible to build an ecosystem that can last through the summer months with minimal additional irrigation.  

The entire built environment can be re-imagined and transformed into a living sponge. If more rain falls than can be absorbed, or if the soil is particularly impermeable, rainwater can be directed through landscaped areas to remove pollutants before it flows downstream. 

Adjusting systems to maximize rainwater capture

There are three basic steps to capturing rainwater. First, check your roof to determine where precipitation is directed after it hits the surface — whether into rain gutters, off the edge, or elsewhere. Second, choose how and where to hold excess rainwater based on this assessment. Last, consider making upgrades such as adding rain barrels or making changes in your landscaping. For instance, landscaping soil may need amendments to hold more water. 

Is your soil more like a brick or a sponge? 

If your soil is more like a brick, it will affect how landscaping is contoured to capture water. Adding soil amendments will help it become more like a sponge that retains water for drier weeks and month. If the soil doesn’t drain well, take special care to avoid drowning new plants. 

When choosing landscaping plants, match them to the soil type. If the soil is sandy, look for plants with “dry feet” that prefer free-draining soil, If the soil is harder clay, look for plants that do not mind heavy soil.

Optimal landscape soil can capture rainwater and allow it to soak in completely in 24 to 48 hours.  

Many homeowners also use rain barrels to capture rainfall before it reaches the ground so it can be released during dry times. For more information about rain barrels, go to WaterSmartSD.org for information about purchase, rebates, and a one-minute video guide to installation.

 

This article was inspired by the 71-page Sustainable Landscapes Program guidebook available at SustainableLandscapesSD.org. The Water Authority and its partners also offer other great resources for landscaping upgrades, including free WaterSmart classes at WaterSmartSD.org. 

 

 

San Diego Offers Landscape, Rain Barrel Rebates For Water Customers

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Debbie L. Sklar

The city of San Diego offers money-saving ways for water customers to conserve water. The city’s Public Utilities Department provides rebates through grant funding by the Department of Water Resources for removing lawns and installing rain barrels. Homeowners can apply now for financial rebates to convert their lawns into a drought resistant landscape. The city is offering a $1.25 per square foot rebate for all lawns that are converted. Converted areas must be designed to capture rainfall for reuse.

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