Landscaping for low water use
Finding an experienced landscaper is key
By Joann Groff joann@theacorn.com

WATER WISE- Plants are carefully chosen in this Deer Springs yard so that their water needs are low and compatible with each other. The plants are at Kathryn Palmer's home.

After living in Steeplechase for five years, Kathryn Palmer and her family bought a house in Calabasas' Deer Springs development three years ago. She immediately noticed a neighborhood tendency to overwater.

"Even in the height of summer, the gutters were all wet," Palmer said. "In many places there were kinds of algae growing because it was so wet, and I'm talking about days when it was 100 degrees."

Palmer decided to permanently turn off the sprinklers in her new yard. The Palmers let their lawn die off naturally, without using pesticides, and Palmer's husband and brother rototilled the front yard.

Then Palmer began designing her new yard based solely on what would use the least water. She logged on to the Internet site BeWaterWise.com, which helps residents choose the best plants for their needs.

The site, run by the Metropolitan Water District and the Family of Southern California Water Agencies, provides yard design tem- plates, a where-to-buy guide and a database with more than 1,500 plants that require minimal water.

Palmer chose to cover her slopes with creeping red fescue and incorporated the drought-resistant California pepper tree, columns of rosemary plants and wood chips to preserve the roots and conserve water.

"I designed, I bought, I schlepped- I did everything except the actual labor," Palmer said. "I am thrilled. It's exactly how I pictured it in my mind. And it requires minimal water."

The yard was finished Nov. 5. During this time of year, Palmer said, her sprinklers are off and they only water the landscape as needed. When days get warmer, they may water for about five or six minutes twice a day.

Bharat Shah, manager of Agoura Hills' Colorful Garden nursery, said maintaining droughtresistant landscaping is not an easy task, especially if residents try to mix such plants with a lawn.

"Most drought-resistant plants don't want much water, so if you have an automatic sprinkler system watering the lawn, or there is a lot of rain, people have some trouble," Shah said. "People ask for the plants a lot, but in the summer, for example, creeping red fescue turns brown, and some people don't like that."

Shah said red fescue and iceplant work well for people who live on hillsides. And he gets a lot of requests for geraniums, which bloom beautifully but don't need too much water. But as far as an entire yard, the best assurance that it will prosper is to put in a fair amount of maintenance time, Shah said.

"When people come in here asking for drought-resistant plants I ask them how much time they spend in their yard," Shah said. "If they don't put in the time, it's really hard. Especially when most maintenance is done by gardeners and they don't have the extra money or time to water plants separately and really do it right."

Palmer agreed that finding an experienced landscaper is the key to success. She hired Raymundo Mandujano of Ray's Lawn and Garden Service.

"He really knows what grows and what doesn't," Palmer said. "He's very knowledgeable and really worked through the designing with me- that really helps."

The increase in interest comes on the heels of a Las Virgenes Municipal Water District announcement that it wants to see a 10 percent cutback by residential and commercial water customers. The district also notified agricultural customers in its service area that as of Jan. 1 they had to reduce potable water use by 30 percent.

Water district officials said the actions stem from a need to refill depleted storage reservoirs. Also, water managers face a courtordered 30 percent reduction in the amount of supplies they receive from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The LVMWD receives all its water from the delta via the state water project.

"We just didn't want to contribute to all the water that flows in the creek," Palmer said. Palmer worked for the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy for seven years and considers herself an environmentalist. She is also an avid scuba diver. "Even though the drains have the Heal the Bay sign on them, a lot still ends up in the ocean. I think it's up to the government to make it easier to do the right thing."

Somehow it needs to be easier to conserve water, she said, using as an analogy the days when recycling bins began to become available.

District officials recommend reducing irrigation times, watering on alternate days and shutting down sprinkler systems during periods of rain. Other suggestions include repairing leaking toilets and faucets, taking shorter showers and washing only full loads of dishes and laundry.

"People don't think about what they do at home and how it's going to affect the bigger picture," Palmer said. "Everything we all do affects the environment and the planet."

The LVMWD is offering its customers free wateruse surveys to help them meet the goals. Conservation information can be found at the district's website, www.LVMWD.com. For more information about water-friendly plants, visit BeWaterWise.com.