SOUTHERN NEVADA WATER AUTHORITY AWARDS: Goodbye, grass
Hello everyone,
My team and I are always on the lookout for excellent Las Vegas realty. We are committed to providing information and opportunity to the public through our research and expertise. When scouring the valley for the next great purchase for our clients, many times we will come across a striking landscape.
A great looking front yard can add thousands of dollars to the value of our homes. Have you considred any new ideas to increase your curb appeal lately?
Many of us are geting more environmentally conscience by the day and here are some great examples of award winning beauty, from water smart minds:
Local homeowners among finalists for landscaping contest
By JAN HOGAN
VIEW STAFF WRITER
On May 2, a caravan of three vehicles pulled up to select homes in the valley, making dogs bark and neighbors peer out their windows.
But there was no cause for alarm. The crew was there to judge the finalists in the 2008 Southern Nevada Water Authority Landscape Awards.
“People send in pictures, but they just don’t do them justice,” said Frank Rauscher, staff horticulturist at Star Nursery. “You have to see them for yourself.”
In the weeks before, residents involved in the water authority’s rebate program, which encourages residents to replace turf with xeriscaping, had entered the contest. They provided photos of their completed projects, and a committee narrowed it down to 11 finalists.
A team of judges, most of them employees of the water authority, then went to the homes to determine the winners, which will be announced on June 12.
The judging parameters included overall aesthetics, curb appeal, proportion, repetition, balance, plant groupings and focal points and flow.
The front yard of Cary McDermott’s house in Anthem offered a professionally designed use of desert plants and boulders. Palm trees on either side of the yard anchored the effect, while red and pink carpet roses provided areas of bright color. All the elements used only drip system irrigation or bubblers.
Rauscher said the lawn was well-planned.
“It’s on a considerable slope, so by adding the boulders and ledges, it (made for) a natural look,” he said.
McDermott is a physician who studied in Arizona and spends a lot of time in Baja, Mexico, “so I brought those influences to the design,” he said.
The ultra-modern architecture of the house included an arched gateway to the courtyard, where a boxed carob tree held center place.
“There’s a crepe myrtle tree, which is not an easy plant to irrigate,” said Doug Bennett, conservation manager for the water authority. “It’s all set off with the pebble finish driveway, which works nicely with this.”
At 18 Starbrook Drive, Kathy Gillespie, who owns a printing and mailing company, and Barbara Allen, a photographer, changed their front yard last year. It’s now anchored by saguaro cactus with yellow bells and Atacama plants. The yard was further enhanced by using only decorative rock as islands, allowing natural desert soil to offer its own texture.
“It’s ridiculous to ever put turf on this slope,” Allen said. “But they required it when we moved in … We live in a desert, so it should be like this. It shouldn’t look like a lawn in the Northeast.”
She added that the yard is now easy to maintain.
The water authority uses the contest winners as shining examples to encourage others and give them ideas. Its Web site contains suggestions, as does a CD, titled “Simply Beautiful.” The CD is available at no charge at the Las Vegas Valley Water District, 1001 S. Valley View Blvd.
For more information, visit snwa.com or call 702-258-7283.
Many thanks goes to the Las Vegas Review Journal for this community news!
We are having some great gardening weather lately with Spring breezes o’ plenty… go on out and enjoy the outdoors everyone,
David
