When Jeanne Reutlinger moved to her Escondido home in 2019, the neglected front yard was full of weeds, baked by the sun, and car exhausts from the street. Three years later, Reutlinger’s vision and hard work for a natural low maintenance habitat created a pollinator’s paradise full of native plants. Her efforts won the 2022 City of Escondido’s Landscape Makeover Contest.
When Jeanne Reutlinger moved to her Escondido home in 2019, the neglected front yard was full of weeds, baked by the sun, and car exhausts from the street. Three years later, Reutlinger’s vision and hard work for a natural low maintenance habitat created a pollinator’s paradise full of native plants. Her efforts won the 2022 City of Escondido’s Landscape Makeover Contest.
When Jeanne Reutlinger moved to her Escondido home in 2019, the neglected front yard was full of weeds, baked by the sun and car exhausts from the street. Photo: City of Escondido
“I wanted to do my own planting and create a colorful water-wise garden to attract butterflies and small birds,” says Reutlinger. At age 84, she got a helping hand transforming the “forlorn lawn” full of weeds, ruts, and dead tree roots from her grandson, John, who helped with extensive plantings. He also assisted his grandmother in creating a natural bird bath from an old tree stump that the birds love.
The award-winning design used plant cuttings and other cost-saving measures. Photo: City of Escondido
“I did the flower, succulent, small shrub and ground cover planting myself over the past three years. It has been a continual work in progress,” said Reutlinger. “I planted colorful heat tolerant plants and clippings from friends and neighbors that require little water and thrive in the heat. I collected rocks and cast-off bricks to make several different beds for my plantings. I dig around each plant and make a berm of soil to hold the water in to prevent runoff.”
Reutlinger said the cost for the makeover was minimal due to her creativity and by tackling the work herself. “It is easy to start plants from cuttings and saves money if one is patient to nurture the little cuttings,” said Reutlinger.
The native plant garden attracts pollinators, including endangered Monarch butterflies. Photo: City of Escondido
The yard is filled with California Poppies, giant Gazania Daisies (which reseed themselves constantly), and marigolds which Reutlinger replants each year with seeds from the previous year’s flowers. Reutlinger planted bougainvillea, rosemary, sea lavender, lantana, succulents, and multiple milkweed varieties. Reutlinger adds seasonal colorful nursery flowers in the spring to enjoy during cooler, rainier weather.
“The many birds with their cheerful songs that enjoy my birdbath in the mornings are a delight,” said Reutlinger. “It is a joy to see the many Monarch butterflies that have made their home in my yard with the various milkweed plantings in my garden. I have been able to watch the full life cycle of the Monarch from egg to growing caterpillar to chrysalis to beautiful adult butterfly right in my own yard.”
The results of Jeanne Reutlinger’s hard work benefit her entire neighborhood. Photo: City of Escondido
Reutlinger says she gets compliments from her neighbors, who enjoy the beauty and color her yard adds to the neighborhood. “It was once a bleak and barren corner and has now been transformed with a lot of love and enjoyment over the years into a water-wise habitat for birds and butterflies and it gives smiles to all who pass by,” she said.
Reutlinger chooses to hand water her plants, allowing her to control the amount of water each plant receives. She also relishes what she calls sunshine therapy. “Hand watering gets me out of the house every day to enjoy my garden and soak up the vitamin D and get the exercise and movement that my 84-year-old self needs,” said Reutlinger.
Up to 80% of local household water consumption is outdoors. The annual Landscape Makeover Contest aims to inspire residents to consider a landscape makeover by showcasing the beauty and variety of water-efficient landscapes.
Interested residents can learn more about WaterSmart Living, including the 2023 contest and classes on the WaterSmartSD website.
(Editor’s note: The City of Escondido is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)
Nevada and two of its neighboring southwestern states are still working on ways to drastically cut water use from the Colorado River as a deadline set by the federal government to address the worsening conditions along the river quickly approaches.
John Entsminger, general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, said his organization is still at the table with the other so-called lower basin states of California and Arizona as they work to respond to a call from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to propose unprecedented cuts in water use along the river in order to protect critical power and water delivery infrastructure at lakes Mead and Powell.
These days, when we talk about water, we aren’t talking about “drought” — we’re talking about a new and enduring climate scenario. Despite fluke flooding like the Las Vegas Valley experienced Thursday night, we must act accordingly.
There is simply not enough water in the West to sustain the level of water consumption we currently demand. And there likely won’t be. Ever.
As California grapples with another long drought, cities across the state have implemented curbside collection programs to increase the amount of available water.
Composting turns food scraps, sticks and leaves into organic material that is then added to soil to make it more fertile.
Robert Reed, spokesperson for Recology, a waste management company, explains compost acts as a natural sponge.
With your new WaterSmart landscaping plans complete, demolition and turf removal done, and your new irrigation system in place, it’s time to get started on the plant installation. For most homeowners, this is the most rewarding part of the process seeing your new landscaping come to life.
Step 1: Use a garden hose to outline groundcover areas to help you visualize the design before you start the installation.
Step 2: Set the plants while still in their containers, in their approximate location per your planting design plan. Take a step back and review. View your plant placements from various angles. Make any adjustments to the design now to avoid having to dig up and relocate any plants.
Be aware many drought-tolerant landscapes look sparse for the first few years. As your plants reach their mature size, they will fill in over time. Be sure to allow proper spacing to allow each plant to grow to its full size.
Step 3: Dig plant holes twice the width of the plant root ball and just deep enough to bury the roots. Water the hole before placing the plant. When planted, the top of the root ball should be even with or slightly above soil level.
Colorful, water-wise plants replaced a thirsty, labor intensive front lawn in Deborah Brant’s winning 2019 landscape makeover. Photo: Vista Irrigation District
Step 4: Once in the hole, the plant should be packed firmly into place with the original, compost-amended soil from the hole. Extra dirt can create a berm around the plant to hold water.
Step 5: Cover the planting area with a two- to three-inch-deep layer of mulch. Keep mulch a few inches away around the plant stems to prevent rot. Using mulch has many benefits. It can help suppress weeds, enrich the soils, protect plant roots from compaction, provide a finished look to your garden, and mulch conserves water.
Step 6: Monitor your garden to ensure your plants are getting adequate water. Even native plant species and drought-tolerant plants need water to get established. This can take a year. To minimize your watering needs while your plants are getting established, install your landscape in the fall months before the months of most significant rainfall in San Diego, generally December through March.
______________________________________________________
(Editor’s Note: The San Diego County Water Authority and its 24 member agencies offer programs, resources, and incentives to improve water-use efficiency for residential, commercial, and agricultural users. WaterSmart choices are a way of life in the region. Stay WaterSmart San Diego! For more water-use efficiency resources, go to WaterSmart.SD.org.)
Angelenos can stock up again on gallons of recycled water to irrigate their trees, plants and lawns — and free of charge through a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power program.
Mayor Eric Garcetti announced the reopening of two recycled water fill stations Thursday at the Los Angeles-Glendale Water Reclamation Plant and the L.A. Zoo parking lot.
Lake Mead’s water levels have fallen to 1,040 feet, inching ever closer to dead-pool level.
Lake Mead, a reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, has been drying up because of the ongoing drought in the western United States. It stretches across Nevada and Arizona.
According to new data from Lakes Online, as of July 28 at 4 a.m local time, Lake Mead had fallen to 1,040 feet. At the beginning of 2022, the Lake was at 1,066 feet.
In his time at the California State Water Resources Control Board, Max Gomberg has witnessed the state grapple with two devastating droughts and the accelerating effects of climate change.
Now, after 10 years of recommending strategies for making California more water resilient, the board’s climate and conservation manager is calling it quits. The reason: He no longer believes Gov. Gavin Newsom and his administration are willing to pursue the sorts of transformational changes necessary in an age of growing aridification.
Chula Vista homeowners Bryan and Denee Felber earned “Best in District” honors as the winner of the Otay Water District’s 2022 WaterSmart Landscape Contest. Converting 2,143 square feet of turf to a drought-tolerant garden in 2015 continues to save water and pay off for the Felbers while beautifying their neighborhood.
