• Choosing the Right Plants
The area around the monument was populated by a very thirsty grass, Creeping Red Fescue. In its place, the team installed Desert Carpet Acacia, a hardy green groundcover that gets by on minimal water.

• Let the New Material Take Over
As with many other projects in which grasses are replaced, the Stay Green team didn’t haul the old material off to a landfill. Rather, it remains in place while the new material is allowed to take over.

• Who Doesn’t Love Flowers?
Everyone loves flowers, right? So do we. That’s why this drought-tolerant design gets a healthy splash of color courtesy of stunningly beautiful rose bushes.

• Troubleshooting the Irrigation
Stay Green’s team concluded the weather station for the irrigation control system was not functioning correctly. New weather-based irrigation controllers solved the problem, cutting water waste.

• Water Twice a Day? No More.
Once the Acacia is established, the switch from Creeping Red Fescue cuts the watering schedule from an aggressive two sessions per day to approximately two sessions per week. That’s a reduction of approximately 80 percent.

The new landscaping will produce a substantial return on the customer’s investment. Now, the Stay Green Design/Build team is identifying other NorthLake common areas that are suitable for redesign, including a landscaped slope that is being hydroseeded with a native mix of plant material to restore it to a more natural state – and a more efficient one, too.

For a printable one-page summary of the NorthLake project, click here.