Jason and Taylor McAllister turned a tired Santee yard into a tropical landscape visited by pollinators and other wildlife. Photo: Padre Dam Municipal Water DistrictTropical Landscape Wins Padre Dam MWD 2024 WaterSmart Landscape Contest
At first glance, you might mistake Jason McAllister’s thriving green landscape for a water-thirsty garden. Look closer, though, and you’ll see that the plants in this tropical oasis are anything but water hogs.
The landscape’s impressive transformation is the 2024 winner of the Padre Dam Municipal Water District’s WaterSmart Landscape Contest winner.
The McAllisters’ home before its landscape makeover. Photo: Padre Dam Municipal Water District
Tropical oasis created in Santee
Pops of landscape color come from lantana, kangaroo paw, gazanias, and angel’s trumpet. Photo: Padre Dam Municipal Water District tropical landscape
McAllister inherited his home in 2020. While he wanted to be water-efficient, he also hoped to create a tropical oasis in the heart of Santee.
With that vision in mind, he worked with his spouse, Taylor, and landscape designer Sara Bendrick to select low-water use plants that would remain lush and vibrant year-round. They chose a drip irrigation system to keep the landscape healthy while limiting water waste.
The tropical landscape creates rich texture from its wide selection of low-water use plants, including a variety of palms. Pops of color come from lantana, kangaroo paw, gazanias, and angel’s trumpet. The landscape is tied together by a ground cover, ruschia nana, a water-efficient succulent that can be walked on.
Pollinators enjoy the new habitat
(L to R): Director Rocky Qualin, Board Vice President Suzanne Till, Jason McAllister, Taylor Jones, Director Ivan Andujar, Sara Bendrick, Director Brian Fordyce, and Board President Bill Pommering present the 2024 Landscape Makeover award at the June board meeting. Photo: Padre Dam Municipal Water District
A nice seating area provides a quiet spot for the McAllisters to relax and enjoy their garden oasis, which has become a refuge for more than just the couple. “We have become a central haven for countless butterflies, hummingbirds, bees, and dragonflies, just to name a few,” said Jason McAllister. “You’d almost think that our property has become a branch of the San Diego River.”
The Padre Dam MWD Board of Directors recognized the McAllisters as its 2024 WaterSmart Landscape Contest Winner at its June meeting.
Customers interested in entering next year’s WaterSmart Landscape Contest can sign up to be notified when entries open by emailing
