Updated: Aug 5, 2022
As drought conditions continue to increase in California, the push to get rid of lawns is also increasing. One great option to replace grass is using low water groundcovers. Groundcovers can offer a blanket of green using a fraction of the water that a lawn would need.
According to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California's BeWaterWise.com, these 4 groundcovers are ideal for Southern California:
Emerald Carpet
The ‘Emerald Carpet’ is an evergreen groundcover that grows to 1’ tall by 6’-8’ wide. It is favored by many landscapers as the manzanita of choice for inland situations. Emerald Carpet has dark green leaves and exhibits compact growth. This variety is relatively tolerant of adverse soil conditions.
Canyon Grey
This reliable shrub, typically used as a groundcover, can reach 1-2 feet tall but can spread up to 10 feet wide. It has gray green, finely divided leaves that are threadlike. Very aromatic when foliage is crushed. It does well in coastal areas with full sun. It does best with afternoon shade in warm, inland areas. This groundcover tolerates clay or sandy soil but needs well draining soil. Flowers are inconspicuous. This is a great plant for dry slopes.
Pigeon Point
‘Pigeon Point’ Coyote Bush is a compact, evergreen ground cover that grows 18”- 24” tall and 10’-12’ wide. Its leaves are green; it has white flowers that bloom in the fall but they are not overly dramatic. It is important to plant this ground cover at least 6’-8’ apart. Otherwise they will overgrow each other and begin to pile upwards. ‘Pigeon Point’ is tolerant of ocean spray and is deer resistant.
Skylark
This ceanothus shrub variety has dark blue flower clusters that bloom profusely in the spring. This smaller growing selection grows to 3’ tall and wide. This plant tolerates coastal conditions but will also grow in inland, hot valleys as it does well in clay soil. This cultivar seems to bloom longer than other varieties. It does well in full sun but will tolerate dry shade also. Leaves are bright green and glossy.
If you're ready to change out your lawn for a low water groundcover, we can help! Many water districts are offering rebates for lawn removal and updating irrigation, we can help with that too! Contact us today and see what we can do for your commercial or residential property!
Change can be good! Many people in Southern California are have a hard time giving up their lawn and going natural with native trees and plants. This can not only save water and money, the native landscape is more interesting and varied. It also takes less care overall and less water once the roots are established.
It takes a multi-pronged approach to maximize water utilization and conservation with landscaping. Removing turf grass is one of the most water conscious adjustments a property owner can make to reduce their water usage. Also, there are rebates available to help mitigate the cost, and the new landscape will save you water and money going forward.
Converting irrigation systems to drip, hand-watering or installing water efficient micro-spray systems or rotating nozzles ensures that landscape watering is as efficient as possible.
Finally, the addition of a sustainable approach in the new landscape works to reduce or prevent wasteful runoff through the use of a rainwater capture or filtration system.
There are many great native trees and plants that do well in our climate. Here are some good contenders from BeWaterWise.com for your native garden.
Are you ready to switch to a native garden? Contact us! At Pacific Vista Landscape Service, we can help you through the rebate process and are experts in all the essential elements, from turf removal to smart irrigation systems, it takes to create an efficient native garden.
