Top 10 Tips for waterwise landscape design for commercial landscapes in Utah & the western United States.

1. CYNTHIA BEE,
OUTREACH
COORDINATOR,
CONSERVATION
GARDEN PARK

2.  Low Precipitation During Growing
Season
 16 inches annually
 Water Supply From The Mountains
 Adequate so far, but limited
 Drought
 Population growth
 Alkaline Soils
 High pH but nutrient rich
 Sometimes missing topsoil
 Cold Winters
 Hardiness zones ??

3. Picture of
Commercial
business watering
during a rainstorm-
as posted to Twitter
by consumers
(included the
business name).

5. • Sea of Green rests the
eye between busier
plantings.
• Conveys a lushness
indicating abundance to
our agrarian psyche.
• Visually demonstrates
the power of positive/
negative space (aka:white
space).
• Organizes the space.

6. Conserve water AND reduce maintenance through design.

7. Design + Photo Credit:
Kikuchi + Kankel Design
Group

8. Artichokes & Co.
Salt Lake City, Utah
Mix of ornamental grasses,
perennials, low shrubs and
groundcovers.
Plants in photo: Blue Fescue
(front), ‘Little Bunny’ Fountain
Grass (mid), Miscanthus (tall).
Various perennials and low shrub
we can’t quite ID.

9. “Zeroscape”- No Green Down Low Xeriscape- Green On Ground Plane
All you see
is the rock
Low green foliage
covers rock and
increases
attractiveness.

10. Using low-growing, waterwise
plants on the ground plane mimics
the “look” of lawn and makes a
waterwise landscape more lush.
Some great low-maintenance plant
choices include:
• Horizontal Juniper (2” tall x 6’)
• Kinikinik (Evergreen, 3” tall)
• Desert 4’O Clock (best
underused perennial- needs no
supplemental water once
established)
• Contact our staff for more ideas
Desert 4 0’Clock

11. Ornamental grasses can also
organize a planting bed when
clump-forming grasses are arranged
on a grid. Recommend using
grasses with neat, formal shapes
such as:
• Feather Reed Grass (‘Karl
Forester’, ‘Avalanch’, ‘El
Dorado’)
• Blue Oat Grass
• Little Blue Stem
• Flame Grass
• Blue Fescue

12. • Block out lawn as larger patches
and alternate with lawn patches
or open space patches as
ordinance dictates.
• The higher speed the roadway,
the larger patches should be.
• Large flowered perennials are
more showy for beds viewed from
a distance.
Whenever possible, avoid
sprinker boxes, trees or any
obstructions in turf areas.
Lowers maintenance and
improves irrigation
efficiency.

13. Make alternating blocks instead of a
thinner strip of plantings + long strips of
grass. Less edging, improved irrigation
efficiency, and greater visual “green”
impact.

14. Reverse the common use of
islands of plantings in lawn and
instead make the LAWN the
island.
Works for both residential and
commercial applications and
turns the lawn into a focal
point.

15. Typical front
landscape
with Kidney
Bean Island
Future front
landscapes
with Kidney
Bean LAWN

16. Typical Utah
Front
Landscape
with the
“Required” Kidney
Bean- Shaped
Island
Kidney bean Island
makes all lawn less
useful

17. Reverse Kidney
Bean “Island”
MUCH more attractive,
waterwise and lower
maintenance!

18. LAWN
Inefficient & blocks view of building Central lawn surrounded by plantings.

19. Two negatives don’t make a positive
• both lawn and gravel areas are “negative space”.
• Break monotony with “positive” space created with
trees, shrubs, grasses etc.
Encourage gathering spaces
• Courtyards and other networked spaces foster
community for employees and the public.
• Courtyard is the ‘negative’ space and plantings are the
positive. There is beauty in CONTRAST.

20. Resist the urge to
“fill” the blank
canvas as that
increases
maintenance and is
visually
disorganized.
landscape “white space”.
Green down low
(Horizontal Juniper)
Green down low
(Fire Chalice)

21. Thinly planted over entire area Positive/ negative space
VS
Even if the lawn above were gravel, it
would still appear lush and organized.
Lawn should be the ACCENT in the
landscape.
People dislike xeric landscapes because of
the “messy” look. Avoid this by creating
positive/ negative space.

22. Dense plantings hide
imperfect maintenance.
It’s the mix of open spaces
and abundance that make
the landscape interesting.

24. Unplanted areas (white
space) mixed with more
densely planted areas.
Open gravel areas require
less work to maintain as
long-lasting mechanical and
chemical means are more
easily employed.
Design + Photo Credit:
Kikuchi + Kankel Design
Group

25. Different example,
same concept.
Densely planted
areas mixed with
open areas.
Design & Photo by:
WaterWise Landscapes Inc,
Albuquerque, New Mexico

26. Green Waterwise Shrubs More Colorful Shrubs + Perennials
Both examples from USU’s “Utah House” at the Utah Botanic Garden.
Kaysville, Utah

27. Large-Flowered Perennials Ornamental Grass

28. The size of the color block should be
determined by the SPEED of the
roadway.
• The higher the roadway speed,
the larger the blocks of color or
“same” plants should be.

29. IHC Hospital, Murray, Utah

30. Huge benefits to eliminating lawn in
parkstrips:
• Reduce negative impact of
overspray on asphalt &
infrastructure.
• Conserves water.
• More attractive, diverse
landscapes.
• Creates sense of separation from
roadways.
• Allows better utility access.
Overspray in parkstrips encourages weed growth between
asphalt and gutter. Also degrades roadways more quickly.
Photo Credit: Conserve Water Texas

31. Water-intensive monoculture Waterwise biodiversity

33. Parkstrips &
Planted
Landscape
Strips in
Parking increase
beauty.
Left:
UTA Parking Lot,
South Jordan, Utah
Right:
Parkstrip,
Jordan Valley Water
Conservancy District,
West Jordan, Utah

34. Great Harvest
Taylorsville, Utah

35. Limited color provided mostly by
flowers.
Landscapes that rely on foliage rather
than flowers are ALWAYS colorful

36. No matter how it’s designed and
planted, water savings are achieved
through the watering infrastructure
and human management.
• Install “smart timers” on
commercial landscapes.
• Require water-efficient spray
heads (MP Rotators) on turf.
• All beds should be drip irrigated.
• Drip irrigation and overhead
spray should never run on the
same zone.
• Soil moisture sensors & rain
sensors are key to automate
water savings.
Photo credit: Conserve Water Texas

37. Examples of waterwise commercial landscapes that WORK!

38. IHC Supply Chain Center
Bingham Junction Development
Midvale, Utah

39. Savage Construction Headquarters,
Bingham Junction Development
Midvale, Utah

40. Senior Living Condos Front Landscape
West Jordan, Utah

41. Rocky Mountain Power Substation
West Jordan, Utah

42. Riverton Public Works
Riverton, Utah
(minus the lawn in the parkstrip and
this gets an A+)