Right-sizing your Garden and Saving Water
By Deana Rae McMillion, Garden Enthusiast and Master Gardener

Right-sizing our gardens in order to reduce water usage is imperative. Just taking out your lawn isn’t necessarily the answer. Many people who do remove their lawns aren’t doing the necessary research and are planting water thirsty plants or invasive plants that use more water or rob their soil of nutrients.

If it seems overwhelming to remove your entire lawn, one thing you can do to save water is let it go brown. In this severe drought the most important thing to save are our valuable trees. But why not look at this as an opportunity to right-size your garden and plantings? California is a summer dry climate and that is not going to change even when the drought is over.

11 Ways to Conserve Water in Your Santa Barbara County Home Landscapes

1. Select water-efficient plants that grow well in your climate and microclimate.
2. Be hyper-aware of plant selection and be sure not to choose invasive plant species
3. Hydrozones: Place plants with similar water needs together and irrigate them accordingly (high, medium, low, and very low zones).
4. Let roots of established plants dry out between irrigations, water deeply and infrequently slightly below the root zone.
5. If you do not use or enjoy your lawn consider replacing it with drought-tolerant plants. If you decide to keep your lawn – water it based on University of California’s “Drought Irrigation Tips”
6. Mix soil amendments (compost, etc.) evenly and deeply into sandy and clay soils (40% or more by volume) before planting.
7. Spread a 2-3” layer of mulch on top of the soil around garden plants and trees.
8. Water early in the morning.
9. Control weeds.
10. Avoid over-fertilizing.
11. Sweep walkways and driveways; do not hose them down with water.

Have a home landscape or gardening question? Contact the Santa Barbara County Master Gardener Helpline at 805-893-3485 or email anrmgsb@.

Please allow 3-4 business days for a response as the Master Gardener helpline is staffed by volunteers. Please be as detailed as you can in your query when leaving a message. Photographs are also helpful in our responding to your gardening concern.
Resources:
Santa Barbara Master Gardener Program
California Garden Web: Drought Gardening Tips
Plant Right: Home Gardeners

GARDEN DESIGN: QUICK! GRAB YOURSELF A COPY!

Eye of the Day has been involved with the publication Garden Design magazine for many years. The latest iteration  of this “magazine” is quarterly and feels more like a book than a periodical.  There is absolutely no advertising to interrupt the flow of articles and inspiring photographs.

My eye was first caught by the Editor’s Note  “Moonshot Thinking for a Low Water World” in which Thad Orr, Editor-in-Chief, discusses replacing lawn with water-wise alternatives involving collection systems and irrigation monitoring. On the facing page is Fresh: Inspiration and Innovations from the World of Garden Design.  This article addresses “Tough Questions about Drought” by asking four people: the Director of the Nature Gardens of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, the Director of the Landscape Architecture and Horticulture Gardening Programs at UCLA, a well-known Californa Landscape Architect and the Water Efficiency Manager of Irvine Ranch Water District, what can be done to conserve water this summer and in the future. Initially, this was all I needed to  continue reading; we all need to immerse ourselves in questions and answers about water usage.

Elise’s Gift showcases the historic Redford Gardens in Quebec, illustrating the article about one of the largest plant collections in North America and the story of its founder, Elsie Stephen Redford with photos of the abundant flora of the gardens that were once the family’s fishing camp. Reading about Elsie’s vision and involvement in her “garden” overlooking the St. Lawrence River has me wishing for an in-depth  biography of her life.

These are only a few of the gems between the covers of Garden Design. This impressive publication is just jammed with articles and photos that are so interesting, beautiful and thought provoking that even those of us not claiming to be gardeners  will just want to absorb.

Subscribe here.