Tag Archive for: drought-tolerant plants

Opinion: Say Goodbye to Grass That’s Only There for Looks. California Can’t Afford to Waste Water

California was so dry and its water supply so precarious by May 2022 that the State Water Resources Control Board issued an emergency order: No drinkable water could be used to irrigate grass that had no function other than to look nice.

The regulation does not apply to residential lawns, although they were already turning brown due to local restrictions on sprinkler use.

It does apply to all purely ornamental lawns — “nonfunctional turf,” in regulatory parlance — at commercial, industrial and institutional sites, such as shopping centers and corporate headquarters.

That order was recently extended for another year.

It’s time for California to follow Nevada’s lead and permanently remove decorative turf.

To be clear, we’re talking only about nonfunctional turf. That means grass that no one walks on, except to mow it. It doesn’t apply to playing fields, picnic grounds, parks, meeting areas, schools, cemeteries or any place where people gather, play, loll, visit or frolic. It won’t keep anyone from feeling wet grass under their bare toes. Instead, think fenced areas with “keep off the grass” signs, plus street medians, mall landscaping and the like.

 

(Editor’s Note: For rebates, classes, and water-saving tips: sdcwa.org/your-water/conservation/.)

Opinion: Despite Big Rains This Winter, Southern California Must Remain Sensible on Water Use

A reflection on the very rainy past seasons may leave San Diego County residents optimistic about the water outlook for this summer. After all, we had record rainfall levels in the southern half of California and snow falling as low as 1,500 feet, generating a snowpack of 172% of normal. It’s very easy to think a 2023 drought has been averted.

Unfortunately, headlines don’t always convey the full story. Despite the significant rain and snow that fell locally and in the northern Sierra Mountains, Southern California must continue to be judicious about continued water conservation and permanent water use efficiency.

Do Kids Really Need Grass? This Magical L.A. Garden Will Make You Rethink Turf

As 5-year-old Stella Penn and her sister, Maxine, 3, enthusiastically play hide-and-seek in the backyard of their Eagle Rock home, the girls are accompanied by a merry band of lizards, butterflies and birds drawn to the yard’s low-water California natives, abundant fruit trees and the fragrance of Cleveland sage and Champaca trees.

Saving San Diego’s Rain for a Non-Rainy Day

“I love the rain,” the Encinitas woman said as she walked through her backyard. “Anytime it rains I get excited about my plants.”

Robin Reid-Anderson has dedicated years to creating a backyard that’s sustainable in San Diego’s dry Mediterranean environment.

San Diego County Water Authority And its 24 Member Agencies

Free Online WaterSmart Landscape Design Workshops Offered

As California enters a fourth straight year of drought, more residents are taking advantage of free, online webinars helping them conserve water and create beautiful landscapes at the same time. New three-hour workshops are scheduled through December, funded in part by the County of San Diego Watershed Protection Program.

Fall Water-Saving Tips

Water-saving actions by everyone in San Diego County during the current drought can help conserve more of our most precious resource.

While San Diego County continues to have enough water due to long-term investments in water sources and conservation, the region’s long-term supply reliability depends on a continued commitment to water-use efficiency indoors and outdoors by homes and businesses both large and small.

Tear Out Your Lawn, Save California

In case you missed the memo: Glossy green lawns fed by sprinklers arcing water into the sky just don’t work anymore in these days of lingering drought.

As the supply of water in reservoirs and wells continues to shrink around California, we need to change what and how we’re irrigating.

Public parks might arguably be good locations for large expanses of turf in Southern California’s low-rain climate, but around our houses?

Drought-Friendly Lawn Makeovers Take Root Among Santa Clara County Homeowners

As the drought drags on, there is surging demand in Santa Clara County for rebates that pay you back for removing a water-thirsty lawn.

“I have so much more appreciation for the California native plants now,” said Julie Garrett, who re-landscaped her front yard in San Jose.

She used drought tolerant plants, and a patch of UC Verde buffalograss — a new alternative turf grass that can go long periods without water.

Jeanne Reutunger transformed a neglected front yard into a beautiful native garden and the winner of the 2022 City of Escondido Landscape Makeover Contest. Photo: City of Escondido

Escondido Landscape Makeover Winner Goes from Weeds to Wow

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

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.

Creativity, ingenuity, and patience pay off

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.

Native garden nurtures pollinators

The native plant garden attracts pollinators including endangered Monarch butterfliest. Photo: City of Escondido landscape makeover

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.”

Colorful yard draws compliments

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.)

Opinion: State Water Restrictions Should Be a Wake-Up Call

In late March, Gov. Gavin Newsom called on local water agencies to implement more aggressive water conservation measures, and for the State Water Resources Control Board to look at banning irrigation of decorative grasses around commercial, industrial and institutional buildings.

Then, at the end of April, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California declared a water shortage emergency, requiring millions of people to cut their outdoor watering to one day a week.