Category Archives: Water-Wise Garden Landscaping

Silicon Valley homes replacing lawns with California Native Succulents

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Yesterday, 03.24.2015, San Jose Mercury News writer Eric Kurhi reported that the Santa Clara Valley Water District is proposing reducing water use by 30 percent and limited watering of lawns to twice a week.

Though Gov. Jerry Brown announced new conservation rules last week to help cope with the four-year dry spell, the water district’s latest push is more of a reaction to a new analysis that showed above-average seasonal rains haven’t done much to bolster Silicon Valley’s groundwater reserves.

Courtesy Sunset Magazine - Water Wise Garden

Courtesy Sunset Magazine – Water Wise Garden

Many homeowners are coping by letting their lawns die and replacing the landscaping with succulents and water-wise California native plants. Consider lawn alternatives, such as hardy ground covers, decks, patios, containers, ornamental grasses or cut-flower gardens. Continue reading →

Low-water landscapes think outside the box

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By Angela Hill: Oakland Tribune, March 6, 2014

Water-Wise Garden_Photo Courtesy Jeni Pfeiffer

Water-Wise Garden_Photo Courtesy Jeni Pfeiffer

Gardeners, dry those tears — or maybe collect them to water your hydrangeas. Yes, we’re looking at drought-induced water restrictions in the coming months despite the recent rain, and reality soon will place California home landscapes on a permanent water diet — reducing liquid-loving lawns and moisture-gluttonous plants and instead bulking up on water-wise vegetation that’s fit for the future.

But that doesn’t mean we will be left with rock gardens and cactus — not that there’s anything wrong with that. Experts say we can use this as an opportunity to get creative, think outside the boxwood, reimagine lawn areas and go wild with the abundant beauty of natives, succulents and even, yes, cactus in its many colors and structural shapes.

CLICK HERE for the full Mercury News Article