Water conservation specialist, Zach Versluis, works on cutting back grasses, April 16, at the Aurora Water-wise Garden. The garden, which is located on the east side of the Aurora Municipal Center, was built to serve as an example of low-water landscaping as well as to provide ideas for your own home. It uses very little water, and uses water from the Aurora Sand Creek Wastewater Reclamation Plant to irrigate. Photo by Philip B. Poston/Sentinel 
The Aurora Municipal Center is seen just west of the Aurora Water-wise Garden. The garden, which is located on the east side of the AMC, was built to serve as an example of low-water landscaping as well as to provide ideas for your own home. It uses very little water, and uses water from the Aurora Sand Creek Wastewater Reclamation Plant to irrigate. Photo by Philip B. Poston/Sentinel 
Water conservation specialist, Zach Versluis, works on cutting back grasses, April 16, at the Aurora Water-wise Garden. The garden, which is located on the east side of the Aurora Municipal Center, was built to serve as an example of low-water landscaping as well as to provide ideas for your own home. It uses very little water, and uses water from the Aurora Sand Creek Wastewater Reclamation Plant to irrigate. Photo by Philip B. Poston/Sentinel 
Horticultural assistant, Andy Weir, spreads mulch in a bed April 16, at the Aurora Water-wise Garden. The garden, which is located on the east side of the Aurora Municipal Center, was built to serve as an example of low-water landscaping as well as to provide ideas for your own home. It uses very little water, and uses water from the Aurora Sand Creek Wastewater Reclamation Plant to irrigate. Photo by Philip B. Poston/Sentinel 
Horticultural assistant, Andy Weir, spreads mulch in a bed April 16, at the Aurora Water-wise Garden. The garden, which is located on the east side of the Aurora Municipal Center, was built to serve as an example of low-water landscaping as well as to provide ideas for your own home. It uses very little water, and uses water from the Aurora Sand Creek Wastewater Reclamation Plant to irrigate. Photo by Philip B. Poston/Sentinel
AURORA | Even if it doesn’t seem like it with snow storms and howling winds filling up the weekly forecast, summer is just around the corner. And that means it’s time to start thinking about plans for what to do with your own little patch of Colorado paradise.
For a majority of homeowners, the arrival of summer means working to rehabilitate dead sod and prepping for sky high water bills. But instead of pulling out the sprinkler and fine tuning the lawnmower this year, Aurora Water wants its customers to consider going dry.
The city is offering to help water users switch over their urban oases from water-hungry plants and large patches of Kentucky bluegrass to water-wise designs. The city has been providing design consultations for about a decade as one aspect of a multifaceted effort to reduce the city’s water usage, said Zach Versluis, a water conservation specialist with Aurora.
Ever since a major drought hit the area back in 2002, Aurora has consciously worked to promote water savings. That includes creating the city’s six-acre Xeriscape Garden at the Aurora Municipal Center.
“High water-use grass is not the sustainable option for the area and we need to provide a more sustainable example of what our customers can do with the water,” Versluis said. “Part of it is safe guarding the water supply. Water for the people.”
The Front Range history of emerald yards is storied and long. Most transplants have come from the East of Midwest, where green lawns, annual precipitation and available water come naturally. Recreating their lush landscapes here means pouring endless rivers of water across the Colorado desert.
Water experts say our Midwest mindset will bankrupt the limited water supply for the state, and the time to change is now.
Customers of Aurora Water who want to transition their yards and gardens into a xeriscape landscape can get the advice of one of the city’s experts for a section of their yard. The staff use a site-specific map to design a palate of flora and fauna for owners to plant.
“One of the biggest misconceptions is that (xeriscape) is barren. That there are barren landscapes or there’s a lot of limits on the number of plants you’re able to use,” Versluis said. “I don’t think customers understand how large the plant palette is. They are surprised to see all the options they have. They’re surprised about how colorful a water-wise landscape can be.”
While the service is free, it isn’t a free ride. Once homeowners request a packet from the city, they need to participate in a online or in-person water-wise class run by Aurora. And then they need to come in with a solid idea of the plants they want featured in their new yard.
“We found that sending them materials, asking them to do a minimal amount of homework before they meet with a designer has worked out really well,” Versluis said. “We just ask for five plants. Even if they don’t know the name of the plant, if they take a picture of a plant they want, that works for us. And even if it’s not a water-wise plant, we can find a water-wise plant that has that similar look.”
After about an hour-and-a-half consultation, homeowners walk away with a to-scale landscape plan and a detailed plant list. Versluis said that plan will show exactly where that plant is supposed to go in and how it will grow as it matures. Then it’s all up to the homeowners to provide the elbow grease.
But the effort is worth it, both in how much money it saves on hiring a designer and how much time it saves in putting the plants into the ground. Christina Rachfalski, a resident of the Southshore neighborhood, is set to use the design program for a third year this summer. She’s already designed two sections of her yard and is beyond pleased with the results to her landscape and to her pocketbook.
“We struggled with keeping our yard looking green without our water bills going through the roof,” Rachfalski said. “A lot of people still think of it as xeriscape and you’re going to have only three cactuses and some rocks in your yard. And instead it turns into these beautiful landscaped areas that are so diverse.”
Rachfalski said the cost of buying the plants and material to convert the two sections of their yard into water-wise designs was more than covered by the savings and rebates on her water bill. And working with the city on the design was a joy.
“It was so easy, they make it so streamlined and effortless. They were very flexible about scheduling the appointment to come out for the inspection,” Rachfalski said. “It was a flawless process.”
To find out about the program and how to participate, visit ow.ly/5Mgu30jxQee