Landscape 2014: Waterwise trumps flowers

Enjoy a photo gallery of some of the winners.

The tropical look, the woodsy look, the grass-is-good look -- all seem to have given way to the waterwise look in this year's crop of awards from the local chapter of the American Institute of Landscape Architects.

Handed out earlier this month, the chapter recognized big and little civic projects, such as the county government's Waterfront Park on Harbor Drive downtown opened in May and a little leftover freeway right-of-way garden, Tweet Street linear park completed in 2007.

But other winners signaled something else, said chapter president Patricia Trauth.

"Things have picked up," she said. "So you're seeing a lot more development going on."

She also said more submissions came from younger designers than in recent years.

Substantively, she said, many designs feature less ornamental and more drought-tolerant plant palettes.

"You're seeing a lot of businesses and institutions taking the time and money to really convert their landscapes into something that's more sustainable," she said.

That means more native grasses which also complement modern architecture.

Besides the winning projects, the chapter also granted its first stewardship award to county Supervisor Ron Roberts, an architect and leading proponent of the waterfront park.

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Landscape 2014: Waterwise trumps flowers