April 12, 2022

Keeping up with yard work can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to be. Knowing what to do, how to do it, and when can make landscape maintenance much easier and less time consuming. The Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership, in collaboration with Ann Baker Landscape Architecture, have published a guide for home owners new to maintaining a low water use landscape. The guide titled “Water Smart Gardens Maintenance Manual” is an easy to use, step-by-step instruction manual on how to care for and maintain the plants, drip irrigation systems, and green features like the ones offered in the Water Smart Landscape Design Templates which are free, open source landscape plans.

The Maintenance Manual will set home gardeners up for success with a foundation of knowledge and principals that reduce the need for resources and upkeep. It includes a calendar showing when to do tasks in the garden – when to weed and when to prune for plant health for example. Instruction on how to perform tasks like pruning and irrigation system maintenance is featured as well as tips for preparing for fire season.