Enhancing Water-Wise Landscaping

All gardens will be judged by the public first ("American Idol"-style), who can see and vote online at from June 1 to July 1. Finalists will then be picked by a panel of judges. Find contest details, guidelines and application info at . 1. Find out about the plants you already have.

Pacific Green Landscape Maintenance

Group plants according to water requirements. California-friendly plants can include and are not limited to decorative yards, bulbs, shrubs, natives, succulents and many plants from Mediterranean climates worldwide. Let a creative design, and not necessarily the plants, take center stage.

The judges will be looking for 3 inches at least. Install a weather-based timer that senses the moisture level in your soil and the air and integrates the information with knowledge of your landscape to water only when your plants need it.

Pacific Green Landscape Maintenance

Learn to read your landscape, look at the soil and plants and think about the environment before you turn the water switch on. Make sure a single drop never hits your driveway or the seamless gutter. Look into permeable hardscape items such as pavers and gravel that filter water before it drips into the watershed.

Go organic. Give drier landscapes a good reputation by keeping your landscape pinched and pruned to excellence. Low water does not mean low upkeep.