'Summer Strong' contest seeks beautiful landscapes that can take the heat
This is image is from the Regional Water Authority's new water-wise gardening campaign. Courtesy Regional Water Authority
Is your water-wise garden ready for a close-up? Here’s your chance to put a regional spotlight on your lawn-less landscape and inspire other residents throughout the greater Sacramento area.
Local water providers are searching for transformed gardens to feature in an upcoming advertising campaign dubbed “Summer Strong.” In particular, the campaign focuses on beautiful, low-water alternatives to thirsty turf such as vibrant native plants and ways to save water including drip irrigation.
Sponsored by the Regional Water Authority (RWA), the “Summer Strong” contest invites Sacramento-area residents to nominate their water-wise yard (or a neighbor’s) online at BeWaterSmart.info/SummerStrong for a chance to be featured on digital billboards throughout the Sacramento region in July and August. Entrants will be eligible to win gift cards from local nurseries.
“The contest is a fun way to showcase what others are doing to create beautiful, water-wise yards ready to take our summer heat,” said Amy Talbot, RWA’s Water Efficiency Program Manager. “We’re looking for a variety of examples, from small-scale projects and do-it-yourself initiatives to larger landscapes and professional designs.”
The deadline to enter is May 31. Eligible entrants must be customers of one of RWA’s member agencies. The RWA includes about two dozen local water providers from Sacramento to El Dorado Hills and Roseville to Elk Grove.
The campaign encourages residents to make their front and backyards “Summer Strong” – “tough enough to muscle through the Sacramento region’s hottest days and still look their best.” That includes such smart gardening practices as watering trees efficiently, adding low-water and native plants, checking soil moisture before turning on sprinklers, installing a WaterSense-labeled smart sprinkler timer and watering plants in the morning to reduce evaporation.
Learn more about creating a “Summer Strong” landscape and enter the contest today at BeWaterSmart.info/SummerStrong.
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Food in My Back Yard Series
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Garden Checklist for week of March 16
Make the most of dry breaks between showers. Your garden is in high-growth mode.
* Pull weeds now! Don’t let them get started. Take a hoe and whack them as soon as they sprout.
* Prepare vegetable beds. Spade in compost and other amendments.
* Prune and fertilize spring-flowering shrubs after bloom.
* Feed camellias at the end of their bloom cycle. Pick up browned and fallen flowers to help corral blossom blight.
* Feed citrus trees, which are now in bloom and setting fruit. To prevent sunburn and borer problems on young trees, paint the exposed portion of the trunk with diluted white latex (water-based) interior paint. Dilute the paint with an equal amount of cold water before application.
* Feed roses with a balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10, the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium available in that product).
* Prune and fertilize spring-flowering shrubs and trees after they bloom. Try using well-composted manure, spread 1-inch-thick under the tree (but avoid piling it up around the trunk). This serves as both fertilizer and mulch, retaining moisture while cutting down on weeds.
* Cut back and fertilize perennial herbs to encourage new growth.
* In the vegetable garden, transplant lettuce and cole family plants, such as cauliflower, broccoli, collards and kale.
* Seed chard and beets directly into the ground. (To speed germination, soak beet seeds overnight in room-temperature water before planting.)
* Before the mercury starts inching upward, this is your last chance to plant such annuals as pansies, violas and primroses.
* Plant summer bulbs, including gladiolus, tuberous begonias and callas. Also plant dahlia tubers.
* Shop for perennials. Many varieties are available in local nurseries and at plant events. They can be transplanted now while the weather remains relatively cool.
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