Roger’s re-landscaping plan stems runoff

CORONA DEL MAR — As part of its re-landscaping, Roger’s Gardens is promoting a greener environment by eliminating some of its urban runoff and planting California-friendly foliage throughout the grounds.

The garden center wants to help people understand that there are many ways to create a garden that uses significantly less water.

Roger’s Gardens manager Ron Vanderhoff said the problem with some of the garden plans that drastically cut the amount of water needed is their look — they’re functional and people appreciate the intention, but many people don’t want gravel gardens filled mostly with succulents.

“First and foremost the gardens have to look absolutely amazing — that’s our goal for our demo garden,” Vanderhoff said. “I’ll know we’ve been successful … when people tell us, ‘It’s fabulous landscaping, and it’ll work in my yard. I really want that,’ and we’ll say, ‘By the way, it uses about half as much water.’ ”

Using California native plants and succulents are both ways to be more water conscious, but using California-friendly plants is another interpretation, Vanderhoff said.

Roger’s Gardens customers have had the issue on their minds, Vanderhoff said, and succulent business has doubled three years in a row.

The garden center is also eliminating the use of any herbicides, pesticides, fungicides or anything else that would release harmful chemicals, nitrogen or phosphates that promote algae growth and pollution.

To help inspire customers to be more conscious of their environment, they have installed “smart” sprinkler systems with state-of-the-art sprinkler heads that greatly reduce runoff. Also the WeatherTrak irrigation system adjusts the amount of water given based on weather and ground conditions using data set by the user and data from a satellite.

Standard sprinkler heads use too much water too quickly, MP Rotator consultant Chris Davey said Friday. It’s the MP Rotator sprinkler heads Roger’s Gardens is installing.

“Instead of a large cone of spray, the MP Rotators put out fingers of spray and some of those fingers go all the way out, others go mid-way and others squirt right below the head,” Davey said.

Small channels in the sprinkler head allow for accurate streams of water to penetrate the soil and irrigate plants, Vanderhoff said.

Vanderhoff and Davey said installing the sprinklers will reduce water use by 30%.

Anyone who buys municipal water is eligible for a $4-per-sprinkler-head rebate, Davey said.

City of Newport Beach public works engineer Bob Stein has said he wants to propose a plan that would cite homeowners for not heeding warnings about generating harmful urban runoff.

Roger’s Gardens is in the first phase of its re-landscaping plan and expects to start phase two in January.

Vanderhoff, who writes a weekly column for the Daily Pilot, said he will work with Newport Beach and the Irvine Ranch Water District to put up interpretative signs around the nursery to help educate local residents about the plants and system.