3rd Annual Woodland Water-Wise Landscape Tour offers money-saving ideas

Andy and Vivian Walker look over some of the plants at their Woodland home Saturday, which was one of 10 featured during the city s third annual Water-Wise Landscape Tour. (JIM SMITH-DAILY DEMOCRAT)

The Walker's residence was one of 10 stops on the City of Woodland's third free Water-Wise Landscape Tour Saturday, offered to explore attractive, water-efficient landscapes.

"Water-wise landscapes not only reduce water consumption and reduce potential of pollution discharges into the storm water system, they can also beautify a home, lower maintenance, and provide welcome habitat for beneficial insects and birds," according to Wayne Blanchard, water conservation coordinator for the city's Public Works Department.

The Walker's agreed.

Andy and Vivian Walker look over some of the plants at their Woodland home Saturday, which was one of 10 featured during the city s third annual Water-Wise Landscape Tour. (JIM SMITH-DAILY DEMOCRAT)

Andy, a professor of viticulture at UC Davis, said the front yard of their home on the quiet cul de sac has gone through many iterations over the past decades, but its present mix is both attractive and water smart.

The couple have lived in the home for 24 years, and Andy said there was no definitive plan on how to go about building the yard itself.

"It's been a lot of work, and I'll work on it now every couple of months, putting in little bits and pieces," Walker explained as people started arriving to check out the home.

There were around 100 people who signed up for the tour this year, about the same as in previous years, city officials explained.

"During warm weather months residential customers with traditional lawn landscapes allocate, sometimes unknowingly, about 50 percent of their water use to landscape irrigation," Blanchard said earlier as a reason for the tour. "A properly designed water-wise landscape can easily cut outdoor water consumption in half during those warm months."

Here is the original post:
3rd Annual Woodland Water-Wise Landscape Tour offers money-saving ideas