Going Native Garden Tour Live Sessions

Mark your calendars! The next live session of the Going Native Garden Tour (GNGT) will be held on August 20th. Virtually immerse yourself into the world of native plants and sustainable landscaping in this online experience brought to you by the Santa Clara Valley chapter of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS). If you are looking for more ways to be eco-friendly in the comfort of your own home, here’s your chance! Learn more about the importance and horticulture of California native plants from selected GNGT gardens of local Santa Clara county participants. All free virtual tours are held via Zoom and YouTube, and streams are uploaded onto the GNGT channel. As of right now, you can access past virtual tours as well as get the gist of the program through their latest Q&A video. For more information on what’s next on the GNGT to-do list this summer, visit gngt.org or follow Going Native Garden Tour on Facebook and Twitter.

View Valley Water's 2020 Landscape Summit

Valley Water’s Landscape Committee hosted its 5th annual Landscape Summit on February 27th, 2020, and videos of the presentations, slides, and take-home tools are now available on its website along with the Landscape Summit agenda.   

This year’s Summit focused on steps the landscape industry can take to help mitigate and prepare for climate change.  Landscape Committee chair, Brian Boyer, Superintendent of Cinnabar Hills Golf Club, and District Director Richard Santos of the Santa Clara Valley Water Board District of Directors provided welcomes to the over 100 attendees representing the landscape industry and local non-profits and agencies.  The Summit featured a State of the Valley’s Water presentation by Valley Water’s then COO, Nina Hawk who discussed Valley Water’s water supply and how the agency is incorporating climate change into its long-term planning.  Shawn Maestretti, principal of Studio Petrichor and Leigh Adams of the Los Angeles Arboretum presented an engaging talk on Climate Reality: Regeneration of the Landscape and Kate Lenahan, Landscape Designer for CMG Landscape Architecture presented on Climate Positive Design, offering attendees tangible tools they can use for designing climate responsible landscapes. 

The 2020 Landscape Summit, along with past Summits, can provide valuable insight into water-smart, sustainable landscaping practices for both landscape professionals and home gardeners.

Online Landscape Education Classes

Learn how to garden beautifully while reducing your water use.  The Bay Area Water Supply & Conservation Agency (BAWSCA) is offering a series of online Landscape Education Classes designed to introduce homeowners, commercial property managers, landscape service providers, and others to the concepts of water-efficient and sustainable landscaping.

These FREE online Lectures and Workshops focus on:

• Sustainable Landscaping

  • Understanding Water-Use Efficiency in the Landscape

  • Use of California Native and Drought Tolerant Plants

  • Creating Healthy Soil

• Alternatives to Lawn

• Habitat Gardening

• Edible Landscaping

• Water Efficient Irrigation Practices

• Parent/Child Gardening Workshop

You can also view videos of BAWSCA’s past landscape classes here as well as Valley Water’s conservation videos here.

Visit South Bay Green Garden’s Events page to view additional workshops happening in our county as well.

International Compost Awareness Week

This year, International Compost Awareness Week is being celebrated from May 3-9, and since many of us have a bit more time at home lately, what better time to either start composting or ramp up your existing techniques. Healthy soil is the foundation of a healthy landscape and compost (decomposed organic matter), is an essential component. Compost can be purchased at any local garden supply store, but making your own compost at home is not only incredibly rewarding, but has multiple environmental benefits. Composting reduces waste that may otherwise go to a landfill, therefore also reducing methane emissions and when added to your garden, increases the water holding capacity of your soil, improves drainage, reduces soil-borne and plant diseases, which in turn reduces the use of pesticides, and completes the natural nutrient cycle that is often disrupted when leaves and yard trimmings are hauled offsite.

Home composting can be as involved or as simple as you’d like, ranging from worm bins (vermiculture), informal piles, or organized bins that are turned regularly, but the more effort you put into it, the more efficient the system will be. StopWaste.org walks you through the basics of composting in this How-To-Compost video:

To learn more about composting, take advantage of a Compost Basics webinar being offered by the University of California Cooperative Extension Composting Education Program on May 9th. Also check out their video series for an overview of composting, tips for building your own composting project, and help with trouble shooting.

Virtual Going Native Garden Tour

Virtually escape into the beautiful world of California native gardens! The 18th annual Going Native Garden Tour previously scheduled for Saturday, May 2 and Sunday, May 3, 2020 will be online only this year to ensure the health and safety of visitors, garden owners, and volunteers. Connecting people to nature and California native plants is more important than ever, so selected GNGT gardens located throughout Santa Clara and San Mateo counties will have virtual tours with more photos and new videos that you can view anytime starting on May 2. Virtual tours will still be free and no registration is required. Follow us on the Going Native Garden Tour on Facebook or Twitter for sneak peaks of virtual tours starting on April 18.  For more information, visit us at gngt.org.

Benefits from Giving Your Lawn a Rest

What comes to mind, for many, when asked about what makes a lawn so enjoyable is almost universal: a place to play and to relax. This mental image may include an immaculate cared-for lawn, but tweaking how you maintain your yard may have benefits beyond having more time on your hands. A recent study across North America and Europe by the British Ecological Society found mowing lawns less intensely can increase biodiversity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce pest species! The study, summarized here, also found cost savings of 36% is possible along with decreased pollen load from ragweed with a modest reduction in mowing intensity.

Valley Water has solutions to help your yard remain beautiful even when you mow it less! Receive a rebate from Valley Water to upgrade your irrigation equipment to state-of-the-art models that help you water only when your lawn needs it. When you water less, you’ll mow it less. Valley Water also offers tips on maintaining a lawn during drought, which can be applied to lawn care any time. Or, you can downsize your lawn and receive up to $2,000 (or more in some areas) for planting water-wise plants that don’t even need to be mowed!

Celebrating Earth Week Virtually!

Wednesday, April 22 officially marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day but why not celebrate the entire week! A perfect way for one to start becoming environmentally active at home is through conservation and sustainability in the landscape! While we can’t attend Earth Day events in person this year, here are some local ways you can celebrate Earth Day from the shelter of your own home:

Videos and Events:

• Our City Forest will be live streaming a series of Planet Tree presentations for all age groups on their YouTube and Instagram accounts at 11:00, Wednesday through Friday this week.   Celebrate Earth Month and Arbor Day by learning about urban forestry and environmentalism!   Check out the event flier for streaming info.

• The City of Palo Alto’s “Guide to Celebrating Earth Day, While We Shelter In Place”  offers a summary of events happening this week including:

  • Palo Alto Sustainability and Climate Action Plan Virtual Workshop

  • Green Foothills Virtual Earth Day

• Local non-profit organizations, Smart Yards Education and La Mesa Verde, are hosting Earth Day Climate Action throughout this week, which includes a set of online activities and programs designed to engage the community in both English and Spanish.

Actions to Take:

• To conserve water inside your home, the first step is understanding how much water you use and where to look for potential leaks. Valley Water’s FREE Do-It-Yourself Water Wise Indoor Survey Kit can help you see if your showerheads and other fixtures are efficient, teaches you how to use your water meter to identify leaks, and more!

• Valley Water’s Landscape Rebate Program and Graywater Rebate offer incentives for reducing water use in the landscape by converting high water use landscape, installing efficient equipment, and investing in alternative water sources such as graywater and rainwater. (Pre-approval is required.)

• Remember to always look for the EPA WaterSense and EPA EnergyStar labels when purchasing new water fixtures or appliances to help lower high energy and water bills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Spruce Up Your Sprinklers Week!

Spring is upon us! So too is Spruce Up Your Sprinklers Week! In conjunction with this event, EPA WaterSense offers best practices and design tips to ensure your sprinklers are performing properly. Did you know in some areas, more than 60% of irrigation systems operate at higher water pressure than they need to? This leads to greater wear and tear on your irrigation system, increasing maintenance needs, and wasting water. This can be a surprisingly straightforward, quick fix.

Instead, install a WaterSense-labeled sprinkler body to save nearly 5,600 gallons of water per year, and fix broken sprinklers to save as much as 1,000 gallons of water per week. Whether you’re in need of sprinklers with pressure regulation or need to upgrade your broken or old sprinklers, apply for a rebate today!

Valley Water also offers rebates for upgrading clock-timed, outdated irrigation controllers with weather-based irrigation controllers. Just submit an online application and include a photo of your current irrigation controller(s), to get started and we can discuss how we can help you upgrade your controller. Many smart controllers rely on real-time satellite information to synchronize the irrigation of gardens, lawns, and yards to local weather patterns. They can also connect you to how you’re using water in your landscape while saving you time and money.

Residential properties can receive up to $2,000 and commercial properties can receive up to $50,000 in rebates—that is a quick return on investment. Valley Water’s rebates may cover much of your material costs, if you apply and wait for approval before buying.

With Spring upon us, now is the time to make a commitment to prepare our landscapes for the warm summer months just on the horizon. Visit watersavings.org and apply for a rebate to upgrade your sprinklers and controllers today!

Gardening-in-Place

Although many are stuck at home due to Santa Clara County’s shelter in place order, that means there’s more time to get in the garden!

Getting out into the garden is a great way to get some fresh air and maintain adequate social distancing while also doing something extremely rewarding.  Spring time is a great time for planting and many garden shops remain open during this time of uncertainty.

Here are some South Bay Green Gardens ideas to get you thinking about gardening-in-place:

- Explore online gardening videos. Now is a great time to get online and learn some extra tips and tricks to make sure your garden is the best that it can be! Explore educational video resources from the Santa Clara County Master Gardeners and from Valley Water.

- Expand your vegetable garden.  Spring is a great time to expand your current vegetable garden and adding fresh, homegrown vegetables to your meals is a fantastic way to liven up a homemade meal. Refer to the Master Gardener’s Vegetable Planting Chart to see what can be planted now in Santa Clara County!

- Plant something new.  Many garden centers remaining open for online orders and curbside pickup during the Shelter-in-Place, and with spring rains, now is a great time to add new plants to add to your garden!   Calscape.org can help you decide what CA native plants will work best for your sites!

- Add a pollinator garden.  With more time at home, now is a great time to add pollinator host plants to your garden.  Attracting pollinators will help your garden thrive and provided habitat for local insects, birds, and other critters.  Visit our Facebook post to watch Water Conservation Specialist Ashley Shannon share how she’s working on her pollinator garden here.

- Spring Cleaning.  Now is a great time to get active in the garden and do the extra work to make your garden shine through the rest of the season! Here is a great resource from the UC Master Gardeners about what you should be thinking about in your garden each month.

Rain Garden Video

Landscape Architect, Stephanie Morris, takes us through a rain garden installation project designed to capture roof runoff and replenish our groundwater supplies. Follow along for tips on designing and installing rain gardens that are eligible for a rebate through Valley Water’s Landscape Rebate Program.

For all rebates under the Landscape Rebate Program, including the Rainwater Capture Rebates, application submission and approval is required before purchasing any new equipment or starting any work.  For more information, or to get started, visit Valley Water’s site here or call our Hotline at (408) 630-2554.     

PLEASE NOTE: SAVE WATER, NOT MOSQUITOES!

Did you know that one of the most common problems with rain barrels is mosquito breeding? Thousands of mosquitoes can emerge from standing water inside a rain barrel. Follow these three simple steps to eliminate mosquitoes:

1.       Cover the barrel and all openings

2.       Empty barrels on a regular basis

3.       Keep the lid clear of standing water

Do your part to prevent West Nile and Zika virus outbreaks! Visit Santa Clara County Vector Control District for more info.