Drought-Tolerant Gardens to Be Judged

A drought-tolerant garden competition will be held in Camarillo as part of Water Awareness Month.

All Camarillo residents are welcome to enter.

Five professional landscapers will judge water-wise gardens and assign points for each of the following areas: plant variety, variation in plant height, variation in plant textures and colors, number of native plants and plants from the Mediterranean climates, estimated plant water requirements, balance, focal point, percentage of lawn area to total frontyard landscape, hard-scape areas and annual landscape water consumption.

“Even though the drought is over, California still has the same water supply as when all the lakes are full--but the demand for water is increasing as the population grows,” said Tony Kack, water conservation technician with the Camarillo Water Division.

Over the last few years, water officials have sponsored poster contests through Camarillo’s schools.

But with interest waning, they thought that they’d try something new, Kack said.

“Landscapes account for approximately 50% of water consumption during summer,” he said.

“Everybody would like to see Southern California look like Hawaii, except we get 15 inches of rain every year here and they get about 300 inches over there.”

By putting in native or Mediterranean plants that can survive on natural rainfall, Kack said he has significantly lowered his water bill.

“People doing this are environmentally conscious,” he said.

To enter the WaterWise Landscapes contest, call the city’s Water Division at 384-1820 by the contest deadline of 2 p.m. May 15.

The first-place winner will receive a $100 gift certificate at a local nursery. Second- and third-place winners will receive gift certificates of $50 and $20, respectively.