Post on 17-Jul-2015
Low Precipitation During Growing Season 16 inches annually
Water Supply From The Mountains Adequate so far, but limited
Drought
Population growth
Alkaline Soils High pH but nutrient rich
Sometimes missing topsoil
Cold Winters Hardiness zones ??
Picture of
Commercial
business watering
during a rainstorm-
as posted to Twitter
by consumers
(included the
business name).
• Sea of Green rests the eye between busier plantings.
• Conveys a lushness indicating abundance to our agrarian psyche.
• Visually demonstrates the power of positive/ negative space (aka:whitespace).
• Organizes the space.
Artichokes & Co.
Salt Lake City, Utah
Mix of ornamental grasses,
perennials, low shrubs and
groundcovers.
Plants in photo: Blue Fescue
(front), ‘Little Bunny’ Fountain
Grass (mid), Miscanthus (tall).
Various perennials and low shrub
we can’t quite ID.
“Zeroscape”- No Green Down Low Xeriscape- Green On Ground Plane
All you see
is the rock
Low green foliage
covers rock and
increases
attractiveness.
Using low-growing, waterwiseplants on the ground plane mimics the “look” of lawn and makes a waterwise landscape more lush. Some great low-maintenance plant choices include:
• Horizontal Juniper (2” tall x 6’)
• Kinikinik (Evergreen, 3” tall)
• Desert 4’O Clock (best underused perennial- needs no supplemental water once established)
• Contact our staff for more ideas
Desert 4 0’Clock
Ornamental grasses can also
organize a planting bed when
clump-forming grasses are arranged
on a grid. Recommend using
grasses with neat, formal shapes
such as:
• Feather Reed Grass (‘Karl
Forester’, ‘Avalanch’, ‘El
Dorado’)
• Blue Oat Grass
• Little Blue Stem
• Flame Grass
• Blue Fescue
• Block out lawn as larger patches
and alternate with lawn patches
or open space patches as
ordinance dictates.
• The higher speed the roadway,
the larger patches should be.
• Large flowered perennials are
more showy for beds viewed from
a distance.
Whenever possible, avoid
sprinker boxes, trees or any
obstructions in turf areas.
Lowers maintenance and
improves irrigation
efficiency.
Make alternating blocks instead of a
thinner strip of plantings + long strips of
grass. Less edging, improved irrigation
efficiency, and greater visual “green”
impact.
Reverse the common use of
islands of plantings in lawn and
instead make the LAWN the
island.
Works for both residential and
commercial applications and
turns the lawn into a focal
point.
Typical Utah
Front
Landscape with the
“Required” Kidney
Bean- Shaped
Island
Kidney bean Island makes all lawn less useful
Two negatives don’t make a positive
• both lawn and gravel areas are “negative space”.
• Break monotony with “positive” space created with trees, shrubs, grasses etc.
Encourage gathering spaces
• Courtyards and other networked spaces foster community for employees and the public.
• Courtyard is the ‘negative’ space and plantings are the positive. There is beauty in CONTRAST.
Resist the urge to
“fill” the blank
canvas as that
increases
maintenance and is
visually
disorganized.
landscape “white space”.
Green down low
(Horizontal Juniper)
Green down low
(Fire Chalice)
Thinly planted over entire area Positive/ negative spaceVS
Even if the lawn above were gravel, it
would still appear lush and organized.
Lawn should be the ACCENT in the
landscape.
People dislike xeric landscapes because of
the “messy” look. Avoid this by creating
positive/ negative space.
Dense plantings hide
imperfect maintenance.
It’s the mix of open spaces
and abundance that make
the landscape interesting.
Unplanted areas (white
space) mixed with more
densely planted areas.
Open gravel areas require
less work to maintain as
long-lasting mechanical and
chemical means are more
easily employed.
Design + Photo Credit:
Kikuchi + Kankel Design
Group
Different example,
same concept.
Densely planted
areas mixed with
open areas.
Design & Photo by:
WaterWise Landscapes Inc,
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Green Waterwise Shrubs More Colorful Shrubs + Perennials
Both examples from USU’s “Utah House” at the Utah Botanic Garden. Kaysville, Utah
The size of the color block should be
determined by the SPEED of the
roadway.
• The higher the roadway speed,
the larger the blocks of color or
“same” plants should be.
Huge benefits to eliminating lawn in
parkstrips:
• Reduce negative impact of
overspray on asphalt &
infrastructure.
• Conserves water.
• More attractive, diverse
landscapes.
• Creates sense of separation from
roadways.
• Allows better utility access.
Overspray in parkstrips encourages weed growth between
asphalt and gutter. Also degrades roadways more quickly.
Photo Credit: Conserve Water Texas
Parkstrips &
Planted
Landscape
Strips in
Parking increase
beauty.
Left:
UTA Parking Lot,
South Jordan, Utah
Right:
Parkstrip,
Jordan Valley Water
Conservancy District,
West Jordan, Utah
Limited color provided mostly by flowers.
Landscapes that rely on foliage rather than flowers are ALWAYS colorful
No matter how it’s designed and planted, water savings are achieved through the watering infrastructure and human management.
• Install “smart timers” on commercial landscapes.
• Require water-efficient spray heads (MP Rotators) on turf.
• All beds should be drip irrigated.
• Drip irrigation and overhead spray should never run on the same zone.
• Soil moisture sensors & rain sensors are key to automate water savings.
Photo credit: Conserve Water Texas