Green is the Color of Nature

A drought-tolerant and pollinator-friendly border planted with grasses, perennials, and annuals. Photo: Teresa Renee Norris

The entire West Coast is experiencing longer, warmer dry seasons, with significantly less precipitation during the rainy season. The West is officially in a drought and regional governments are serious about outreach on the issue. California is suffering one of the worst droughts in our history, prompting Governor Brown to call for a 25-percent reduction in water use. Here in the Bay Area where I live, last summer we surpassed that mandate and successfully reduced water use by 30 percent.

One of the primary targets of reduction efforts has been water used in the garden. Homeowners are being asked to conserve water by letting their lawns die out; “Brown is the New Green” has become a catchy but simplistic slogan used by local municipalities.

But green is the color of nature.

Earth’s water cycle. Illustration by Andrea Hurd

The Movement of Water

As a garden designer and landscape contractor, I...