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Oct. 24, 2011 Work has begun on two demonstration gardens in southeast Los Angeles County that will transform small pieces of land into gardens that trumpet the value of California native and drought tolerant plants. The program is called The Large Landscape Garden Demonstration Project. "We always need to be thinking about how we can conserve water, and these demonstration gardens will help make the point that you can have a beautiful garden and save water at the same time," said Ed Vasquez, Central Basin Municipal Water District's Board President. The development of one garden has begun in the city of Montebello at the famed Sanchez Adobe where 5,000 square feet of grass will be torn out and replaced with California native and drought tolerant plants. The construction of the garden is being funded by a $10,000 grant from Central Basin through revenues generated when Proposition 50 was passed in 2002. In addition, the San Gabriel Valley Water Company, which services Montebello is contributing $5,000 and another $5,000 is expected from the Metropolitan Water District which reimburses for the removal of lawn at $1 per square foot. A second project started recently in the city of South Gate at South Gate Park,. The project will remove another 5,000 square feet of turf and create a demonstration garden with California native and drought tolerant plants. Central Basin is contributing $10,000 for that project as well. Similar projects are expected to get underway soon in the cities of Cerritos (at Palo Verde Park), Cudahy (at Clara Park) and Whittier (at Laurel Station along the Greenway Trail). "We hope that all or most of the projects will be completed by the end of the year. As Southern Californians we need to be smart and savvy about our water usage, and something as simple as changing our landscape can make a big difference," said Sandi Linares Plimpton, who is managing the projects for Central Basin. The cities where the demonstration gardens are being constructed will not incur any cost in the development of their garden. All of the design, material and labor are paid through the grant. "All of the cities that are participating are very excited about the projects and how they can help spread the word about water conservation," she added. While the current water supply in California is historically robust after last winter's very wet season, California water managers are ever mindful about how quickly that can change. In fact, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently released its long range weather forecasts for the winter in the United States and it projects that the La Nina condition will persist and that a drier and cooler winter may await Southern Californians. "Once these demonstration gardens are completed, the cities and Central Basin and our other partners will promote these so that residents can see how beautiful the plants and learn that these gardens tend to take less maintenance and much less water than what the residents have now," added Linares-Plimpton. And she has a point. Regardless of what Californians have in their gardens and landscapes, they tend to overwater. The University of California Center for Landscape and Urban Horticulture says on its website that its own field studies indicate that most species would perform acceptably if people water 20-to-40% less. "And when you realize how little you have to water California natives and drought tolerant plants, that number could be reduced even further. That's the message that we hope these demonstration gardens can deliver to the people that we serve," added Linares-Plimpton.
http://www.centralbasin.org/
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