Water Wise

Right now, halfway through the fourth year of drought, people are being forced to think about water and how they use it in the garden.

It’s important to save water now, just in case the rains don’t return in the fall and we face an unprecedented fifth year of drought. But even should it pour, there are some very good reasons for us to learn some new ways with water.

Reason No. 1 is cost.

Even if it rains for weeks, even if more water is diverted to urban areas (which at present only get 16% of the state’s water, with 4% going to landscape irrigation), even

if new dams and aqueducts are built (highly unlikely)--water will cost more in the near future. It’s getting the water to Southern California that’s expensive.

And water-saving plants, systems and techniques do save money.

In a test conducted by John Olaf Nelson of the North Marin Water District in Northern California, comparing small, traditional, lawn-dominated gardens to small, water-conserving gardens, the water-wise gardens netted a savings of 54% on the water bill.

They also turned up some hidden savings: a 24% savings on labor, 61% on fertilizer costs and 22% on herbicide use. Because these were small condominium gardens, the total saved each year averaged only about $75, but the dollar amount would be much greater in grander gardens.

Reason No. 2 might be the weather.

Scientists think that the weather will be more erratic for the foreseeable future, and droughts as well as wet years, more likely. They point out that the weather most of us grew up with, in the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s, was unusually mild and consistent, so forget the good old days, water could be scarce at any time and the wise will be prepared.

Reason No. 3 is the government.

Gardeners who are unprepared might find themselves forced to learn a few new ways.

As some have discovered this summer, government is not sitting idly by, but is busy proposing or implementing ordinances that regulate how water is used in the garden.

Pending state legislation (Assembly Bill 325) will mandate that communities come up with water-saving landscape ordinances. Most of the water-saving plans now in effect were developed by water districts, after legislation six years ago required them to come up with plans.

At the moment, most ordinances in California cities are quite reasonable, limiting when you can water or--at the most--how much you can water, but in the wings are proposals that tell you what kind of irrigation equipment you can use, and even what plants you can grow.

Plant lists are the greatest threat. They would tell gardeners and nurseries what they can or cannot grow. Says landscape architect Lisa Iwata, one of the organizers of the annual Xeriscape Conference in Southern California, which promotes water-conserving gardens, “Plant lists are scary.”

Reason No. 4 is changing aesthetics.

This may turn out to be a fad or fashion, but at the moment, the bright-green garden--based on and around a large expanse of lawn--is out.

There is a new aesthetic in California gardens and it is a leaner, sunnier look. Lawns do not dominate this look and are often absent. Instead, there are paths and patios, ground-covering mulches, and lots of shrubs and perennials that are not bright green, but olive green or gray green.

It is not entirely clear if these gardens are factually more frugal with water, but people do water them less, and typically with something other than sprinklers.

In the North Marin study, there was a definite water-savings of 54% in water-conserving gardens, but most of this was attributed to the lack of a lawn and the grasses grown in this part of Northern California tend to be the thirsty kinds--bluegrass, rye and fescue--not the more drought-tolerant warm-season grasses prevalent in Southern California.

Reason No. 5 is just for the fun of it.

Some of us might resist the new ways and new technologies. Gardening is, after all, a pleasant repast from the techno-world we live in--just you and the soil, working together to make things grow--hands in the dirt, thumb clamped over the hose.

But these new ways and new technologies can be fun, so much so that they can become a hobby of their own.

Now when it gets too dark to be out in the garden, you can pour over brochures, leaflets and catalogues--studying and learning. Neighbors and friends will seek you out for your new-found wisdom and new ways. You’ll know what ET (evapotranspiration) is, and that a “tortuous path” is not the Pacific Coast Highway on a good beach day. (A tortuous path is a new way of preventing drip systems from clogging). You’ll be able to speak of “precipitation rates” and polymers. You may even be able to converse about computers in the garden, because they are coming.

Avid gardeners can give you a few more reasons to find some new ways with water:

--Flowers that fall over from the weight of water droplets on their leaves or blossoms.

--Diseases on roses and other plants, and even some common pests.

--Plants that are too tall and need staking; young trees that blow down during Santa Ana winds.

--Plants that die soon after planting, or several years later from root rots.

These common garden problems can be solved, or at least mitigated, if you adopt some of these new ways with water.

Are gardens and gardening practices about to change dramatically? Probably not. Or at least not immediately.

Lawns are sure to shrink in size, and already are--Santa Barbara nurseryman Ray Sodomka calls them the “new, little lawns”--as people discover the pleasures of growing other things in their place. But there will always be a place for flowers and vegetables and other favorite plants. They will just have to be managed more carefully.

Even lawns can be better managed. Forest Lawn, with its extensive turf areas, has managed to save about 20% of its water through improved management using low-flow sprinkler heads and new data called ET, according to chief engineer Clint Granath. That’s a lot of water saved--roughly 100 acre feet, which would have cost about $50,000 a year.

So where does one begin with these new ways? With simple waste.

In a naturally summer-dry state there should be no excuse for waste. Water that runs down gutters and out to the sea is simple waste, helping nothing and no one. Water lost to the atmosphere through evaporation raises the humidity while contributing nothing to the environment and is similarly wasteful. A considerable amount is lost this way because of the way we water with sprinklers.

Water used to hose down driveways or sidewalks may be wasted, although some now question if using deafening leaf blowers to redistribute dirt and pollutants (they simply settle somewhere else) is a wise water-saving tactic. Here, however, government has already acted and banned the hosing down of sidewalks and driveways.

But, water that goes to plants is definitely not wasted--it is a renewable resource after all--and watering the garden is not an evil act, though some make it out to be.

Perhaps watering during the middle of the day when the wind blows much of the water toward Tucson is a matter for the “drought police,” but sensible irrigation should not be. There is strong evidence that it actually helps the urban environment, by keeping plants growing even during the hot, smoggy season, cooling and cleansing the air.

The trick, then, is using that water wisely, with little waste.

Landscape architect Ken Smith of Thousand Oaks, who wrote the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s “40 Ways to Save Water in Your Yard and Garden,” says that simply checking to see if something needs water and remembering to turn the water off afterwards, can save the 10% asked for by the city this summer.

Over the coming weeks, we will look at many of the new, wiser ways on these pages.

Next: An overview of the new techniques and technologies for managing water.

GARDENER’S CHECKLIST

For dedicated gardeners, here are suggestions from the California Assn. of Nurserymen on what to do in the garden this week:

* If you water your lawn well and still have brown spots, lawn moths may be to blame. Consult a nurseryman for the proper treatment.

* If your tuberous begonias are dropping buds, they may need more air circulation or more sun.

* Give yellowing azaleas, citrus, rhododendrons or camellias an iron supplement along with normal fertilization programs.

* Harvest vegetables from your garden in the morning when they are crisp and cool.