Water Efficient Landscaping

One of Micke Grove Zoo's (MGZ) goals is to conserve water through water-wise landscaping. The California Chaparral and Central Oak Woodland eco-region that the zoo is located in, is shaped by hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. This region is characterized by mixed oak and pine woodlands [Valley Oak (Quercus lobata), Blue Oak (Quercus douglasi), Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia), Interior Live Oak (Quercus wislizenii), and Gray Pine (Pinus sabiniana)] growing fairly close together, mixed in with plants, shrubs, annual wildflowers, and few grasses. Although much of the oak woodlands of Central Valley have been lost, Micke Grove Park has a robust population of oak and pine species that characterize this eco region. A water-wise landscape in central California necessarily needs to incorporate native plants, shrubs and trees that are adapted to the local environment, have relatively low water requirements and are drought tolerant, requiring very little water, or no water at all once they are established. Water efficient landscaping thus lowers consumption of groundwater and allows surplus water to be available for other domestic and community uses and the environment.

Adapting the basic principles of water wise landscaping, MGZ has begun replacing high maintenance landscape areas with drought tolerant native plants, shrubs, trees, wildflowers and climbers. Also by planting California natives MGZ aims to provide feeding and breeding stations for threatened butterflies native to California (such as the Monarch butterfly - Danaus plexippus spp. plexippus), and several species of bumblebees (western, Bombus occidentalis; yellow, Bombus fervidus; American, Bombus pensylvanicus; Morrison, Bombus morrisoni).

MGZ has used a number of resources to deliver its water-wise landscaping program. Information and resources on choosing the right location-specific plants, planting information, type of substrate, type of irrigation, and inter-plant distance were readily available from a number of online sites. These include California Native Plant Society’s (CNPS) Calscape website, the Las Pilitas nursery, Xerces Society, the Theodore Payne Foundation, and Monarch Watch. The California Native Plant Society’s Calscape tool helped identify native plants suitable for our location by plant type, water needs, shade tolerance, and other criteria, and also helped locate local native plant nurseries. The Las Pilitas nursery website had more hands on information on buying plants, the planting procedure and ongoing maintenance. The Xerces Society was instrumental in helping MGZ plan and establish our Monarch WayStation and pollinator garden.

Narrow leaf milkweed	Narrow leaf milkweed Seed pods	Photo courtesy: WikiMedia Commons Woollypod milkweed
Photo courtesy: WikiMedia Commons Showy milkweed	Black-eyed Susan's	California poppy
Cleveland sage	Indian blanket flower	Purple coneflower
Photo courtesy: Las Pilitas Nursery Palo Verde tree	Photo courtesy: Las Pilitas Nursery Ceanothus 'Ray Hartman'	Photo courtesy: Las Pilitas Nursery Western Redbud