Sacramento Suburban Water District offers a variety of water-efficient landscaping examples for our customers.  Below are links to our various gardens containing information which highlight their unique individual attributes and how you can incorporate those attributes into your yard.    

• Garden on Eden
• American River Parkway Foundation Native Plant Garden

Visit these Water Efficient Landscape Gardens throughout the year to get a feel of how a water-efficient garden reacts to the different seasons.  The best part about water efficient gardens is that you have flexibility.   Different plants bloom at different times of the year, so you can fill your garden with different plants that will provide color all year.  

Remember, fall is the perfect time of year to start a Water-Wise landscape. While spring often comes to mind as the ideal time for planting, actually fall is better. In fall, the soil still holds summer's warmth, which encourages root growth, but the days are cooler so new plants don’t require as much water. Even if there’s a late heat wave, the stress on new plants is greatly reduced because the days are shorter.

When spring rolls around, fall plantings will have established root systems, be ready to start their growth spurt and be better prepared for the heat of summer.

Keep an eye on local nurseries that may be hosting spring/fall planting events, and others that may be handing out tip sheets about planting, water-efficient sprinkler systems, and rebates available from local water providers.

Some things to consider while you work on your low-water landscape:

• Choose low-water use flowers, trees and shrubs that can thrive in Sacramento’s Mediterranean climate.
• Group plants with similar water and sun needs in the same place, on the same sprinkler valve, and be sure to give them room to grow by measuring their growth width.
• Add drip irrigation for your new trees, shrubs and flowers to have healthier plants and reduce water waste.
• Replace older pop-up sprinklers with new high-efficiency rotary nozzles, which shoot multiple streams of water at a steady rate allowing for better absorption by the soil.

You can Create a custom watering plan for your yard using the Sacramento Region Smart Irrigation Scheduler on the BeWaterSmart website or by contacting us for a Water-Wise House Call.