Carmel Valley gardener wins San Diego conservation landscape contest

Second Carmel Valley gardener earns honorable mention in same competition

By Karen Billing

Two Carmel Valley gardeners have shown that being water-wise and having drought-tolerant landscaping dont have to mean ugly.

Amelia Lima's water-wise front yard won first place.

Carmel Valleys Amelia Lima was named the winner of the California Friendly Conservation Landscape Contest sponsored by the city of San Diegos water conservation program and public utilities department, while another Carmel Valley resident, Nancy Dalton, received an honorable mention.

Both womens gardens are alive with more than just rocks and a couple of cactuses they are colorful, lush and full of visual interest.

Im very concerned about water in our climate, as everyone should be, said Lima, a landscape horticulturist who owns her own landscaping company.

Lima said between 50 and 60 percent of all water in Southern California is used outdoors and, for the most part, people overwater their gardens. She said many people mistakenly think if a plant is not doing well, its because it lacks water. Her biggest tip is instead of dousing those struggling plants with more water, to find plants that actually want to live in this unique environment.

A dramatic sweep of river rocks in Nancy Dalton's garden gives the illusion of water flowing past plants.

Lima said that San Diego is a Mediterranean climate and only four other regions of the world share that climate the Mediterranean basin, South Africa, Australia and Chile.

Here is the original post:
Carmel Valley gardener wins San Diego conservation landscape contest