ICYMI: Garden Smarter - Our newest sustainable landscaping resource! 💧🌱

JUNE 2023

Garden Smarter

CREATE A STRESS-FREE

SCV LANDSCAPE YEAR-ROUND

Making the move to water-wise landscaping can help us adapt to the far-reaching effects of drought and climate change. And Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency can provide expert tips and guidance, as well as rebates and resources.

If you’ve been thinking about making the switch, now is the perfect time.

Besides saving water today, you are laying the groundwork (literally!) for a more sustainable future for your yard, not to mention the bees, butterflies and birds looking for a place to flourish. Imagine your neighborhood—and all of Santa Clarita—as a beautiful, biologically diverse and water-wise community. Healthy shade trees line streets and yards are filled with vibrant plantings of shrubs, perennials, and low-water groundcovers. It can happen, and it starts with you.

Read more here

The Ground-Level

Healthy Soil = Healthy Plants

The key to a thriving garden and healthy plants?

Start by realizing that the ground under your feet is teeming with life. “Soil is a living thing; we absolutely need it,” says soil expert Dr. Kathleen Treseder, an ecosystem ecologist and UC Irvine professor. “Life on Earth would not exist in the way we know it without soil.”

Making the Switch

The Do’s and Don'ts

of Lawn Makeovers

Local landscape pros

share their advice

“Looking forward, most turf is a thing of the past,” says Chris Horton, a senior associate with Pacific Coast Land Design. “It’s harder and harder to justify keeping turf,” especially when there are so many benefits to making the switch.

Read more here

BENEFITS OF GOING NATIVE

Transitioning from grass to native plants saves water, helps wildlife

Ready to ditch thirsty turf? But what do you plant instead?

Consider incorporating California native plants into your water-efficient landscape.

“What makes native plants ideal [for local landscapes] is that they evolved here in Southern California,” explains Evan Meyer, executive director of the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants, which grows hundreds of varieties at its Sun Valley garden center. “They’re adapted to our climate and seasonal rains.”

Read more here

YOUR DREAM YARD

MAKE ROOM FOR NATIVE POLLINATORS

Besides providing you and your family outdoor space to recreate, your landscape can provide food and habitat to native wildlife such as birds, bees and butterflies. Their favorite choices? Native plants! Many California native plants grow extremely well in the Santa Clarita Valley while supporting local wildlife.

Read some suggestions from experts Evan Meyer and Erin Johnson at the Theodore Payne Foundation, as well as view an illustrated version of what your yard could become, including smart irrigation, permeable pavement and a bee hotel for native bees.