quick tips....WATERWISE PLANNING

All waterwise gardens begin with carefulplanning. As you plan your landscape consider the following:

Principles for a Water-Wise Landscape

• Determine Sun and Shade Areas

• Improve your Soil

• Group Plants Wisely

• Limit Lawn Areas

• Use Mulch

• Use Water-Conserving Plants

• Irrigate Efficiently

This yard began its life as a part sun, part shade garden of weedsand grasses. An existing concrete patio was connected to asecond patio and to the house by a gravel path. Automatic dripirrigation was installed to an existing faucet and broken intotwo different zones. Plants, not lawn, were planted and theexposed ground was covered with wood chips .

A successful waterwise landscape useslimited water not because it skimps onplantings but because it makes wise useof native and drought tolerant plants.Equal consideration should be given tothe creation of an efficient irrigationsystem. Proper irrigation design will help you use water more efficiently in your landscape.

If you’re not ready to start over, an oldlandscape can easily be renovated instages to make it less thirsty. If you havean in-ground irrigation system already, it can usually be adjusted to water yourplantings less frequently. Take a carefullook at your existing plants; identify

For more information visit our website at: www.ccwater.com

If the idea of a low-water use landscape brings to mindvisions of gravel and cactus planting, reconsider, because agarden most certainly can be beautiful without being thirsty.

which ones are low-water consumers.You may have a number of them but you may be watering them as if theywere heavy users or they may be plantedamong thirsty ones. Isolate the featuresand plants you want to keep and worka new design around them.

Target Areas For Improvement

Depending on the extent of the changesyou want to make in your landscape,you may need to devise a long-rangeplan. Try to put your money and timewhere you’ll see the water-saving resultsfirst. One way to do this is to removethe thirsty plants, or reduce or eliminateyour lawn.

Waterwise Planning & BuildingPlanning & Design

Before AfterA little hard work and a year later the garden is well establishedand thriving. The key to its success was the choice of plants intheir relationship to the sun and shade areas of the yard. Shadetolerant shrubs and perennials create a lush, cool, greenhideaway near the house while annuals, vegetables, herbs, andsun loving perennials occupy the sunny areas.

BedroomWindow

Kitchen Window

High Water Use Area Low Water Use Area

Moderate WaterUse Area

9

Maple

BlockPatio

Vegtable Garden

Garage

Cement Patio

BenchGravel Path

Gravel Path

Gravel Path

Compost Pile

Calla Lilies

RedwoodDeck

High Water Zone

Low Water Zone

High Water UseHigh Use Water PipeModerate Water UseMod. Use Water PipeLow Water UseLow Use Water PipeDrip Irrigation

Garden Legend

House

Moderate Water Zone

Zone the Landscape

Organizing your yard into zones allowsyou to water plants grouped with similarwater needs. This avoids waste andensures that every plant gets the amountof sun that best suits its needs.

Low-Water Use Zone

This is the area of lowest water need.Irrigation is needed here only when you add a new plant. Once established,(which can take one to two years) theseplants require little, if any, water.

Moderate-Water Use Zone

Plants in this area require more waterthan what nature would normally provide. These plants require about half the water that lawns need.

High-Water Use Zone.

This is the place for your thirstiest plants.Generally, plants in the high-water zoneare lawns, annuals, vegetable gardens,and other water-loving plants. They areusually grouped close to the house.Cutting back on the size of this zonedoes the most to reduce water use.

Limit Lawn Areas

No matter where you live, lawns requireconstant upkeep; mowing, weeding,fertilizing, and a great deal of water.

In places where rainfall is plentifulthroughout the warm-weather season, alawn is easy to grow, but in arid summerclimates such as ours, a small lawn or nolawn makes really good sense!

When evaluating how much lawn youwant in your garden, look to functionfirst. Hardscape such as pavers, wood,stone, and gravel provide attractive

Photographs and Plans Courtesy of: Carrie Landry gd2- Garden Design, Oakland CA

Things To Keep In Mind

contrasts in planted areas and at thesame time perform a real function inthe landscape.

Low water use ground covers, low shrubs,and hedges provide cooling textures andcolors, adding more interest to yourlandscape and garden.

Steps To A Water-Smart LandscapePlanning & Design