Water Wise Highlights
Water is wasted in Southern California. Did you
know 70% of the water we use goes to water our lawns?
It's true.... and unforgivable. Lawns have their place,
but it should not be the "default ground cover" for any
home or business. The term Water-Wise gardening simply
means that the plants selected for your garden are more suitable
for your local area. This does not mean limit your choice
to only cactus. Every region (in our case, California) has a
multitude of plants that thrive naturally in that environment.
More and more nurseries are producing and
selling native and water wise plants. Water wise does not
mean native, nor does native mean water wise. Generally, Southern
California is considered a "Mediterranean" type
climate, but California has many native plants specific to the
different regions of State.
Native plants are those that are found naturally in your
area. Water wise plants are those plants that thrive in
your area with only supplemental water.
If there are some specific plants or type of plants that you
would enjoy---there is nothing wrong with that! Simply plan
a separate zone in your garden where plants share similar water
needs. This now becomes a special feature in your garden.
What we are saying is don't have your entire garden filled
with Eastern plants in a Western garden. One can still
plant an English garden---just use your own Native plants.
The biggest mistake we see is when people water their
"water-wise" plants too much.
A new trend in local government is to provide incentives for removing grass and replacing with water wise plants. Long Beach, CA offers up to
$2,500 for planting a water wise garden. Call your local water district and City Hall to find out if such a program is available in your area!
For more information visit our Water Wise Gardening Page!