Waterwise Garden

The Waterwise Garden Committee formed this spring to help our community adapt to the changing situation regarding water availability and cost in our area.

Our goals are to create attractive spaces that use less water, save the HOA money, and provide inspiration for any in the community who may be considering swapping out some or all of their lawn for more water wise plantings.

NEW GARDEN IN LEANDER PARK

Our first project was to create a waterwise garden area in Leander park. The garden is the newly planted half circle by the benches under the trees. (Leander Park is the strip that runs between Braun Court across from Beeman Park and the parking lot next to Lot Que.)

The plants we selected are all Plant Select https://plantselect.org/ plants, which means they use little water and are at home in our steppe-like, semi-arid climate. The area we live in gets around 14" of precipitation per year, as compared to say, Chicago, which gets about 40", or Cincinnati at 42".

We followed the recommendations of Jeffco Master Gardeners and the Denver Botanic Gardens in how they create waterwise gardens.

These gardens need no soil amendments beyond a top coating of sqeegee, which is the small crushed rock you see as the mulch in our garden. The squeegee helps with drainage and works its way into the soil to help water flow around the plant roots in our heavy clay soils, and has the added advantage of staying put during high winds.

We hope to expand the garden in 2024 to the area under the trees on the other side of the sidewalk.

If you are interested in waterwise planting for your yard or project, here is a list of plants we used (so far) in the garden and links to some resources.

PLANTS IN OUR WATERWISE GARDEN

  • Virburnum Mini Man
  • Daphne Carol Macke
  • Manzanita Panchito
  • Mockorange
  • Undaunted Ruby Muhley Grass
  • Standing Ovation Little Bluestem Grass
  • Englemann's Daisy
  • Scuttelaria Smoky Hills
  • Agastache Sunset
  • Penstemon Bridges
  • Winecups
  • Ice plants

LINKS:

Denver Botanic Gardens Info and Links on Sustainable Landscaping
https://www.botanicgardens.org/our-impact/sustainable-landscape-services

CSU Xeriscaping and Waterwise Planting Info 
https://cmg.extension.colostate.edu/gardening-resources/online-garden-publications/water-wise-landscaping-xeriscaping/

Low-Water Native Plants for Colorado Gardens: Front Range & Foothills PDF
https://extension.colostate.edu/docs/pubs/native/FrontRange.pdf

PLANTS & GARDENS IN A BOX:
https://resourcecentral.org/gardens/

https://www.highcountrygardens.com/

Join us! If you're interested in joining us, contact Jonelle at 720-493-5082.

 

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