This landscape consists of Succulents, Lavender, Carex Grass, Rock Mulch and Wood Mulch, and Boulders, with a couple of existing Washingtonia Robusta Palms = All drought Tolerant.

We renovated thier existing landscape and irrigation system. The drought tolerant landscape consists of gravel mulch, new low water use shrubs and trees, and a new Weather Based Smart Irrigation Controller.

'UC Verde' Buffalo Grass just planted

This residence in Redlands had an all brown/dead lawn that we removed. After a couple cycles of weed killing, and then adding soil amendements a month and a half later, we planted the ‘UC Verde’ Buffalo Grass plugs.

This picture was taken after just a few weeks of being planted. The Buffalo Grass looks green and healthy…and is growing fast!

We also repaired and relocated her existing sprinkler system, installed an UgMO Soil Moisture Sensor, and repaired her fence.

‘UC Verde’ Buffalo grass after 30 days

This picture was taken 30 days later. As you can see, these Buffalo’s grow fast!

Swan Water Conservation

Down the Drain:                                   You’d be shocked to discover the oceans of water that we waste every single day.

Water we have long taken for granted is being depleted at an alarming rate, at huge cost to the planet. Unless things change, our children will suffer for our gluttonous ways. We can no longer count on neighboring states to supply our rapidly growing thirst for water. It’s imperative that we find ways to limit our usage to an amount less than our eco-system’s natural replacement rate.

Serious change is needed. Now.

Government mandate is already in place in many areas. Beyond taking shorter showers, fixing leaky faucets and doing only full loads of laundry, the only realistic way to comply is by severely curtailing your outdoor irrigation. Will our lawns soon be going brown and our planting beds wilting?

Is it possible to cut outdoor water use by 30 to 50%, as we’ll soon be asked to do?

Yes, I believe that we can continue to enjoy our outdoor landscapes, and do so without guilt. It requires a conservation strategy, a bit of know how, and the desire to make a difference. Here’s how to start:

Timing is everything. Replace your obsolete timer with a new Smart Controller. Properly programmed, such a controller will apply only the minimum amount of water needed. They respond to weather conditions, and allow you to program irrigation cycles at the optimal time(s) during the day.

Choose plants wisely. Plant choices abound these days. Native and drought tolerant species are beautiful year ‘round and won’t guzzle water needlessly. Visit our plant selection page for some ideas on how to get started.

Get a water audit. Poorly designed and maintained irrigation systems are huge water wasters. For example, typical lawn sprinklers waste about a third of all water applied. And that’s a best case scenario. With so much as stake, it clearly pays to work with a professional. Contact Swan Drought Tolerant Technology for a basic or comprehensive water audit.

To illustrate the potential water savings, here’s an actual case study:

Swan Drought Tolerant Technology Case Study:

Total landscape area of 13,800 square feet

7,600 sq feet: drought tolerant plants and ground cover

4,900 sq feet: drought tolerant turf variety

13,000 sq feet:  new generation artificial turf

Result: 30% reduction in water usage and matching decrease in water bill.

Swan Drought Tolerant Technologies is a part of Landscape Design, Inc. a California Corporation. Ca contractor’s lic #486431. For more information, visit our contact page.

We started off by killing the existing 27,000 square feet of grass, and conducting several weed kill cycles over a two month period to make certain that the old grass, and any new weeds would not appear.

The Buffalo Grass comes in boxes, such as the packages shown below. Once delievered, our team planted the plugs 18″ oc, and 12″ oc. The Colony wanted to determine on their own, which spacing was the best method for planting. We recommend 9″ oc for faster coverage and better weed control.

Below is a picture of the 27,000 square foot area of Buffalo Plugs. Look closely, they may be small and far apart now but in just a couple of months this area will be all filled in. We are visiting the site weekly to check up on the little Buffalo’s and make sure there aren’t any weeds interfering.

Newly planted Buffalo Grass plugs

To learn more about this water saving grass, subscribe to our free newsletter.

Before

This homeowner attended our Sustainable Claremont presentation at the Claremont Colleges. She called us up  asking about designing a new landscape for her front and back yards for her home in Covina. She also wanted to know about the current rebate programs for the city of Covina. We told her there was a rebate for demolishing her existing turf, and we could plant all drought tolerant plants in it’s place.

After

She had a lawn full of weeds. We conducted 2 grow-kill cycles with Round up, and layed down weed barrier to eradicate the weeds and make sure they wouldn’t come back. After that we re-planted some existing palms and some agave plants she had to new locations in her yard. We planted all drought tolerant plant varieties, succulants, and other similar plants, with bark mulch, and decomposed granite. Her yard turned out pretty nice! She is very happy with it. 

After

Side Yard

Parkway

 

Buffalograss gets fresh attention for California lawns

31 Aug, 2009

By: Ron Hall

LM Direct

Once, when asked how much water a buffalograss lawn would require to stay alive, turfgrass expert Dr. Bill Knoop, now retired from Texas A&M, quipped it would need just about as much as a buffalo can give it. Actually, his language was more colorful than that; use your imagination.

Landscape pro Forest Hill shows off California-bred ‘UC Verde’ buffalograss

For more than a generation, a handful of turfgrass breeders and other experts have touted the considerable environmental benefits of buffalograss for home lawns and commercial properties. Even so, property owners — even     in the Southern Plains and the arid Southwest where the grass is best suited — have been slow to adopt the species. Historically, property owners have viewed traditional lawn grasses to be greener and lusher than buffalograss.

But greener and lusher are terms that don’t hold the cache they once did. With increasing attention being given to turfgrass as a so-called “water hog,” is it time for landscape professionals to begin promoting the use of buffalograss, which requires significantly less water and chemical inputs to remain green and healthy than traditional lawn grasses?

Forest Hill, a longtime longtime landscape and irrigation professional in Ontario, CA, thinks so.

Hill is the founder and operator Landscape Design, Inc., and its new division, SWAN (Smart Water Application Now). Through SWAN Hill offers a range of progressive water-efficient landscape irrigation services, and he’s very high on buffalograss. Not just any buffalograss, but a variety jointly developed by turfgrass experts at the University of Calilfornia (UC) Davis and UC Riverside. The official name of the grass is ‘UC Verde’, and it’s the only commercially available buffalograss breed in California for California lawns.

In fact, Hill is so enthusiastic about this particular grass that he plugged it (It can’t be established from seed.) into the front yard of his attractive home/headquarters. As the plugs were only two months old when we visited on Monday, Aug. 24, they hadn’t had time to spread and fill in. But what we saw was green and attractive and was certainly more inviting than landscapes composed of rocks and desert plants. Hill expects his lawn, once the grass spreads, to require significantly less water than the tall fescue it replaced, and to be just as attractive, even figuring that it will go dormant and brown from December into late February.

This buffalograss lawn, started from plugs, will require another month to fill out completely

“Once the buffalograss gets established, it will use about 70 percent less water than the tall fescue, and I will only have to mow it about once a month,” said Hill.

To further reduce water use on the lawn in from of his home, Hill took out a 4-ft. wide strip of turf surrounding the buffalograss, eliminating another 1200 sq. ft. that no longer needs watering. He also replaced part of the landscape in his yard with a patch of artificial turf, again as a demonstration of what can be done from a landscaping standpoint to meet California’s stricter water conservation rules.

But it was his enthusiasm for buffalograss and the promise that it holds for providing property owners in our Southern Plains and arid U.S. Southwest for having green, living turfgrass lawns and still conserving water that heartened us most.

As home owners and commercial property owners become acquainted with the several improved varieties of buffalograss it’s our guess that they will adopt them and grow to appreciate them as alternatives to more stark desert-style landscapes.

Below is a picture of the Buffalo Grass taken later, after it has all filled in.

For more information about this article, or the magazine click on the link below:

http://www.landscapemanagement.net/business/other-business-features/buffalograss-gets-fresh-attention-california-lawns

Pozzolan is a 26 million year old volcanic ash from the Lassen Volcano in Northern California and Nevada.  When this volcano would erupt, the volcanic ash would deposit into the nearby freshwater lakes.  These lakes contained large amounts of protozoa. The skeleton of these protozoas is extremely porous and absorbent, which allows for the efficient movement of air and water available to turf and plants.

Western Pozzolan is the name of the company that distributes this product. They have designed it to work well with topdressing, hydraulic injection and drill and fill equipment. This Pozzolan product provides more oxygen to the root zone, and will retain a very high amount of plant available water. It wil beneficially change the water release pattern in the soil profile, eliminating localized dry spots and reducing irrigation requirement. Pozzolan creates a desirable balance between air and water in the soil.

Pozzolan will:

• Force open and maintain air and water passageways
• Allow the soil to absorb and hold water
• Reduce fertilizer consumption
• Reduce the frequency of watering
• Promote deeper roots
• Reduce compaction
• Reduce labor costs associated with intensive turf management
• Reduce water use by 30%

We chose to Drill and Fill the turf at the Swan office property. The drill and fill machines were provided by Turf Time West Inc. The machines drill 8” deep using drill bits 1 1/4” in diameter.  It took one ton of Pozzolan product to complete a 3,000 square foot area of turf. Using only one machine the drill and fill took two hours. With three drill and fill machines an acre and a half could be completed in one day.

This product has been researched by several prestigious colleges such as Texas Tech University and UC Davis, as well as others. The conclusions have all been positive, acknowledging the benefits that come from using this product. Pozzalon has been used all over the United States and parts of Canada, for golf courses and landscapes. If you would like to learn more about Pozzalon visit www.westernpozzolan.com

Buffalo Grass Saves 50% of water consumption

Just out research at UC Davis and UC Riverside has produced a beautiful and amazing new grass variety that that reduces water consumption by 50% or more.

This drought tolerant standout called UC Verde Buffalo Grass is a patented cultivar bred from the native buffalo grass from the North American Great Plains, but with California’s unique climate in mind. While Buffalo Grass has many sustainable features, the primary benefit is significant water conservation.

The UC Verde Buffalo Grass requires 50 to 75% less water than traditional tall fescue grasses, such as Marathon, which make up much of the California turf landscape. Not only does it require less water, but it also requires less maintenance as well. The growth habit of ‘UC Verde’ Buffalo Grass is about 4 to 6 inches tall; its mowing requirement is once every two to three weeks, or it may be left un-mowed as a short meadow grass. Its dense habit makes it very difficult for weeds to establish, and it has a very strong disease and insect resistance. The dense texture of this grass makes it very durable and tolerant of heavy foot traffic, making it ideal for large industrial and commercial landscapes.

The UC Verde Buffalo Grass is self-repairing, and will fill-in where there may be physical damage due to rodents or urine burn from dogs. This selection has a relatively short dormant season as compared with other warm-season grasses recommended for the southern California region, remaining green for a longer period of time throughout the year.

Receive the free Buffalo Grass Green Paper:  Click here.

Amazing Buffalo Grass Saves 50% Water Consumption

Pozzolan is a 26 million year old volcanic ash from the Lassen Volcano in Northern California and Nevada.  When applied to grass, Pozzolan provides more oxygen to the root zone, and will retain a very high amount of plant available water. This is because Pozzolan forces open and maintains air and water passageways which allows the soil to absorb and hold water more efficiently. This will also result in reduced frequency of watering. Pozzolan promotes deeper roots and reduces water use by 30%

It is applied by a process called “Drill and Fill”, which is a large machine that drills the Pozzolan 8” deep into the turf.

 The Pozzolan Drill and Fill treatment was conducted for the city of Palmdale at the Messari Soccer Park located on 55th Street on September 21st 2010. The Pozzolan treatment was also conducted at the Foglesong Park Base Ball Field located on Avenue H in Barstow on September 22nd 2010. The parks were both about 40,000 square feet and each required 4 of the Drill and Fill Machines. Each park took about 8 hours to complete.

Swan will be monitoring the results of the Pozzolan treatment for 90 days to make sure there is a reduction in both of the Parks water use.