Landscaping & Garden

For more on water efficient gardening and gardening with native plants try these on line resources.

• Calflora
• California Native Plant Society
• California Office of Water Use Efficiency
• Native Plants for a California Garden
• h2ouse.org Garden Guide

If you are interested in information on gardening public demonstration gardens around the Bay Area offer residents beautiful real-life examples of how to be water-wise by landscaping wisely. A list of these public garden locations can be found on the Santa Clara Valley Water District website.

• How to conserve water in the garden (PDF)
• Are you effectively watering your lawn (PDF)

Water-Efficient Landscaping Workshops
Offered each spring to Santa Clara County residents, this FREE workshop series covers practical information such as water-saving garden design, plant selection and landscape maintenance. The classes are taught by landscape experts. For information, call the Water Conservation Hotline at (408)630-2554.

Landscape Rebate Program* 
The Landscape Rebate Program is designed to assist homeowners and commercial, industrial and institutional property owners increase their outdoor water use efficiency by converting qualifying high water use landscape and/or upgrading to qualifying high efficiency irrigation equipment. Simple changes in plant type and irrigation methods can greatly reduce the water required for an attractive landscape. There are many plants that use surprisingly little water.There are also several irrigation equipment upgrades that can increase your irrigation system’s efficiency which can result in saving water and saving money. The District’s Landscape Conversion Rebate Program offers $2.00 per square foot for converting high water using landscape (i.e. irrigated turf or functional swimming pool) to low water using landscape. Irrigation hardware upgrades for the installation of high efficiency equipment as also available. For more information call the District’s Water Conservation Hotline at (408) 630-2554.

*Funding has been exhausted for the current fiscal year

Landscape Survey Program
Since 1994, the Santa Clara Valley Water District has been helping landscape mangers improve their sites’ irrigation efficiency. Through the innovative Landscape Survey Program, surveyors perform FREE site evaluations to assist property owners on how to better manage their site’s landscape water usage. These surveys have shown potential savings of up to $1,000 per year per acre of landscape. All commercial, industrial and institutional sites as well as multi-family complexes in Santa Clara County with a minimum of 5,000 square feet of irrigated landscape can receive a complimentary landscape survey. Surveys are available Monday through Saturday at your convenience. For more information, please call the Water Conservation Hotline at (408) 630-2554.