Gardening : Learn About a Garden That Uses Little Water
Horticulturist Tom Ash says the average homeowner in Southern California opts for a landscape that is better suited for a water-rich area like Seattle, rather than the semiarid climate of the Southland. We seek lush lawns studded with trees and bordered with colorful annuals.
Yet there is an attractive alternative. With the use of plants that need little water, and by grouping plants according to their water needs, one can have a beautiful landscape and save water, time, money and headaches.
Ash, of UC Riverside, is the garden director of a new water-wise demonstration garden in Riverside, aptly named “Landscapes Southern California Style.”
The garden, a joint venture between UC Riverside Cooperative Extension and the Western Municipal Water District, is the only facility of its kind on the West Coast. Its mission is strictly educational, and water conservation is its goal.
Since “Landscapes Southern California Style” opened in June, the public response has been favorable. This is in one of the fastest-growing areas of the nation, and new homeowners are flocking to the garden to get landscaping ideas.
This is not a typical botanic-type garden, and although it features beautiful plants, the plants are selected for their practicality in Southern California landscapes, where water is precious. This means that the plants in the garden have been chosen for their water-efficiency and their low-maintenance requirements.
Take ground covers. As substitutes for lawns, ground covers require far less water and maintenance. One can save about 40 hours of lawn work over a year by planting or replacing a lawn with ground cover plants. It will also save up to 60% of the water required by a typical lawn, Ash says.
Ash especially recommends three ground covers. The first, clumping gazanias, take much less water than their cousins the trailing gazanias. The plants have dark-green foliage and a display of yellow, orange or maroon flowers from spring to fall.
The second, verbena, is quite drought-resistant and is one of the more colorful ground covers. It provides a green carpet covered with pink, red or purple blooms from spring to late summer. Ash particularly recommends verbena for sloping landscapes.
The third ground cover, lippia, is a tight, low-growing lawn substitute with purple and white blooms from spring to fall.
Hydro-zoning--grouping plants according to their water needs--results in water conservation and adds to the health of plants. For example, Ash says, it is a common practice to plant trees in a lawn. But trees and grasses are at the opposite end of the water-needs spectrum. Lawns need short, frequent watering because of their shallow root systems, and most trees require deep, infrequent watering.
Planting trees in lawn areas means that the frequent, short waterings force the tree’s roots toward the surface. The roots lift sidewalks, crack driveways and foundations and interfere with lawn-mowing. And because their roots are shallow, the trees can blow over in strong winds.
The “Landscapes Southern California Style” garden features 32 species of trees. Among these are the crape myrtle with its pink, white, red or lavender flowers; a number of cultivars of eucalyptus, palms and sycamores; many native trees such as the California pepper, and the valley oak and many less-known but drought-tolerant species.
What about flowers in a drought-tolerant, low-maintenance garden?
Ash says annuals are too thirsty and require too much time and replacement effort during the year. Instead, his garden uses perennials, wildflowers and ground cover for year-round color.
For those who ask him to recommend a flower that is drought-tolerant, low-maintenance and likely to bloom all year, Ash smiles and suggests: “Plastic flowers.”
Ash points out that four of the most popular shrubs--India hawthorn, pyracantha, pittosporum and photinia--will thrive with half the water usually given them in a Southern California landscape. He says over-watering is the leading contributor to plant disease.
Fifty education stations throughout the garden help visitors take self-guided tours. Subjects range from drip and other water-efficient irrigation methods to the various soil types in the Southland. One station features an extensive demonstration of the use of fire-resistant plants in the landscape.
In addition to its collection of plants, “Landscapes Southern California Style” demonstrates the use of rocks, decks, various artificial and natural mulches, and a dry, rock-lined stream bed.
The garden is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. The garden is set up for self-guided tours, and Tom Ash is there on Saturdays to answer questions.
The garden is at 450 E. Alessandro Blvd., Riverside. From California 91, go east on Central Avenue; Central Avenue runs into Alessandro. The garden is about 4 miles from the freeway. Phone (714) 780-4170.
In keeping with its educational mission, the garden offered landscaping seminars on some Saturdays in the fall. The charge was $2. Seminars are expected to be resumed in February.
