GARDENER:Enter, vote for best California Friendly garden

I remember a gardening advertisement. An urban homeowner was standing in front of his garage with the door open. With facial expressions of fierce determination, he was beginning his weekly battle with his garden. He was supported by every means of engine: string trimmer, blower, mower, chain saw, hedge trimmer. Backup support came from an arsenal of rakes, shears, sprayers, pole pruners, hoses and trash cans.

With "Rocky" music playing in the background, he dove headlong into the overgrown, weed-infested jungle that was his backyard. The camera cut away while all we heard was machinery, snapping branches and primal grunts.

When the noise ceased, he reappeared, triumphant in his weekly confrontation. The battle was won, but the larger war still loomed.

With the smirk of glory on his face, the now-tamed and sanitized landscape had been cut, whacked, sprayed and scalped back into submission. I don't remember the sponsor of the advertisement; it could have been any of the several companies well-known to most gardeners.

Is this the garden we are creating for ourselves? Is this what we sign up for when we decide to have a garden?

For those who have entered Orange County's California Friendly Garden Contest, the answer is no. California-friendly gardening, while fundamentally about less water, less runoff and less green waste is, ultimately, about less effort.

The entrants in this year's contest remind us that a garden doesn't have to be a battle between gardener and nature that demandsa weekly regimen of supplements, prunings and sprayings.

California Friendly gardens are gardens that need less — less water, less maintenance, less pesticide, less fertilizer. California Friendly gardens are also about less water runoff, less green waste, less pollution and fewer invasive plants.

If you're interested in entering the contest, the deadline is tomorrow. If you've been waiting until the last minute to get your entry in, this is it. Take three pictures, answer five questions and you'll be entered.

Even if you don't enter, everyone should vote. Click on to the website (www.rogersgardens.com/gardencontest ) and look through the entries. Each front-yard garden is represented by three pictures.