Inspiration Garden A LOOK AT HOW WE DEVELOPED THIS WATER-WISE TREASURE

HOW WE GOT HERE

With a big idea. Like you, we began with a vision and initial ideas about how we wanted to use our landscape and what it might look like. We brought in people to sit around the table with us and brainstorm ideas, which resulted in an illustration of our vision and goals. We hired a designer and contractor, and we broke ground in April 2021.

We started with a garden planted in 2009 that had declined over time. It was no longer serving as an inspirational or educational venue to demonstrate water-efficient gardening. With new legislation challenging California water utilities to take greater action to encourage water-efficient practices, opportunity knocked, and the challenge became a goal – The Courtyard Garden Education Makeover Project.

The Roseville Environmental Utilities Water Efficiency Division saw an opportunity to use the garden to help residents wanting to make changes at home. The team formed partnerships with the Utility Exploration Center, Parks and Recreation, Placer County Master Gardeners, and other subject matter experts to bring the garden to life once again.

SUMMER 2020

The Courtyard Garden Education Makeover Project is launched! Led by Bobby Alvarez, the Water Conservation Administrator for the Water Efficiency Division of Environmental Utilities and Rachel Tooker, Interpretive Services Supervisor at the Roseville Utility Exploration Center, a Core Team, was formed. Cheryl Buckwalter of Landscape Liaisons signed on as Project Coordinator.

On June 20, 2019, the Core Team held a brainstorming session, bringing together a wide range of stakeholders. These included landscape-related professionals (landscape architects and designers, contractors and manufacturers), regional water agency representatives, UC Master Gardeners, and Roseville staff. We referred to this group as the Brain Trust with the goal of putting any and all ideas on the table for this new adventure.

The process of brainstorming ideas is similar to what we all might do at home: what are all the potential uses for our garden, and how do we narrow down the universe of ideas to fit our goals, available space, landscape conditions, and budget?

This illustration is the result June 20, 2019, brainstorming meeting, which captured ideas from participants and guided the next steps.

DESIGN

While many homeowners will be able to do the design and implementation on a more informal basis, for this project, we hired professional landscape design and construction services.

To find a designer, we advertised for and interviewed several candidates, finding a consultant that best matched our goals for the project and demonstrated their understanding of our vision.

The landscape architect developed landscape and irrigation design plans with input from City representatives, management, and other stakeholders. The design process was completed from January through May 2020. The completed design also included a maintenance manual.

FINDING A CONTRACTOR

On June 25, 2020, a meeting with landscape contractors was held to review the landscape and irrigation design plans and walk the site for the new Inspiration Garden. The construction meeting followed COVID safety protocols and kept all participants six feet apart. The team selected a contractor in the fall 2020. Construction start was deferred to Spring 2021.

LET THE TRANSFORMATION BEGIN!

Construction began in April 2021 with the removal of existing turf, shrubs, plants, and trees.

A project like this takes a lot of steps even before installing your first water-wise plant.

You have to obtain an Underground Service Alert before you dig to ensure you do not impact underground utility facilities.

But, there are other important steps included in the images below, such as:

Removing existing turf by hand and with a sod cutter
Tree removal including those that are diseased and stressed
Trenching for irrigation lines that will be installed overtime
Constant review of landscape plans to make sure you're on track

Once we trenched, we installed new, permeable pavers. They were leveled with small gravel added between them, which allows rainwater to soak into the soil beneath, keeping it in the garden and avoiding runoff.

We installed benches, drilled holes for the shade structure's posts, added compost, brought in large boulders and positioned them.

One of the critical installations was the irrigation system and its many components. We installed a Rain-Clik sensor, irrigation values, protective boxes for the valve and completed the dripline in a grid pattern. You'll also see us begin to organize plants in groups according to their water and sun requirements.

We had our plans with us so that we knew where exactly to plant each plant. The landscape plan is critical to achieve a healthy, water-wise garden. And a plan ensures you purchase the right number of plants for the right zones.

There are necessary steps to make sure the plants have space to grow over time, reducing pruning. We measured distances between plants, watered them once they were installed, added mulch, make sure the irrigation zones were functioning according to plan, and added signage. It was also important to install shade for classes and events we will eventually have out here!

NOW FINISHED

Construction began in April 2021 and was completed November 2021. Check back for more information about the Inspiration Garden Grand Opening being planned for spring 2022.

Back to Gardening and Irrigation

Created By

Paul Krug

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