Could I get a glass of water, please? Anyone ... a glass of water, please?
That might be what I’ll need March 5 as the city of Newport Beach hosts its first public WaterMiser workshop at the Newport Beach Central Library. I think I might be a little thirsty that evening.
Reducing and conserving outdoor water use doesn’t mean replacing lawns and trees with plastic and gravel, or turning colorful flower beds into prickly cactus gardens.
Water-conserving gardens don’t look dry, dusty or dormant. They don’t cost any more than water-wasting gardens. A well-thought-out design, along with soil improvement, modern irrigation devices, use of mulches, and proper selection of plants can make a big difference in your garden’s water consumption.
The public is encouraged to attend the free event, focused specifically on helping local citizens conserve precious landscape water.
The purpose of the evening is to discuss and demonstrate ways we can all have a beautiful, thriving garden, while at the same time conserving our limited water resource.
I’m pretty sure I’ll be thirsty that evening.
I was honored, when Shane Burckle, Newport’s new water conservation coordinator, asked me to be the keynote speaker for the evening. I will be presenting a program titled “Gardening Green in Orange County,” with a special emphasis on how water is being used, or misused, in our gardens.
The evening officially begins at 6 p.m. but I’d suggest coming a few minutes early so you can meet some of my colleagues and other landscape water experts who will be on hand, sharing their expertise and showing the latest water conservation tools and products.
Outside the main meeting room, the library’s patio will be bursting with exhibits, including a large California-friendly plant selection, hosted by my co-worker Wendy Proud. Wendy is the star of the Proud Gardener, a weekly segment on KOCE-TV’s “The Real Orange.” She will show a wide variety of plants that are well adapted to our mild Mediterranean climate and will be available to answer questions about their care, culture or uses in our gardens.
