Spring Valley Couple Wins 2014 California Friendly Landscape Contest
Congratulations to George and Donna McWalter of Spring Valley. Their home was selected as the winner of the Otay Water District’s 2014 California Friendly Landscape Contest. The McWalter’s replaced 3,100 square feet of turf grass with water smart plants and was the clear winner as chosen by a panel of judges.
The decision to remove grass was a 12-year process after moving from Wisconsin. The fight to keep weeds out and grass green, when faced with the need to conserve water, was the stimulus to toss their turf.
The final project started in 2011 with visits to the Water Conservation Garden located on the campus of Cuyamaca College in Rancho San Diego. The Garden provided inspiration and colorful examples of California friendly themed gardens that would complement their home, neighborhood, and save water.
“The final result was much more beautiful than we expected. We were ecstatic. Truly, our curb view went from ugly to picturesque in a short period of time.”
Most of all, with grass removed and replaced with a California friendly water smart landscape, the McWalter’s annual water consumption dropped to 114 units, for a monthly average of just 9.5 units, well below the 14 units per month used by a typical single family home.
“We felt this project was one of the best decisions we ever made!”