WAC Awards at Monterey County Fair
Water-wise Gardeners Win Prizes

It pays to conserve water. That's what three entrants in the landscaping competition at the Monterey County Fair discovered in August.

In addition to ribbons, they won gift certificates at local nurseries from the Water Awareness Committee of Monterey County.

Their landscaping entries incorporated drought-tolerant plants and minimized the use of grass or lawn, in keeping with the Water Awareness Committee's campaign to "Retire Your Turf" or conserve water when gardening. More than half of domestic water use goes to lawns and gardens, according to garden experts. That means water-wise gardeners can save more water by cutting down the size of lawns.

And more than the cost of such a precious resource, water, lawns also have costs related to pesticides, fertilizers, gasoline and lawn mower maintenance. In addition, runoff from lawns can add to pollution of streams and oceans.

The Water Awareness Committee, a consortium of local water agencies and water purveyors, will be available at the Monterey County Fair on Friday in the horticultural building's courtyard to provide examples of drought-resistant, low-water landscaping. And, visitors can also check out the prize-winning landscapes:

First Place -- Tosha Ramos of Carmel Valley, a $100 gift certificate from Drought Resistant Nursery, 850 Park Ave., Monterey.

Second Place -- Vincent Roth of Salinas, a $75 gift certificate from Graeber Gardens, 115 Monterey-Salinas Highway, Salinas.

Third Place - Kate Askew of Carmel Valley, a $50 gift certificate from Elkhorn Native Plant Nursery, 1957 Highway 1, Moss Landing.

View the winners | View the full photo album

Further information about water conservation is available by calling the committee's hotline 646-4656