Showing posts with label Ocean Friendly Gardens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ocean Friendly Gardens. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Argia Designs 2012 Year in Review

Last year was another busy year here at Argia Designs!  We designed and saw installed lots of new gardens all over the county (and in LA too!), had a great year volunteering with the Surfrider Foundation's Ocean Friendly Garden program, and we're looking forward to even more fun in 2013!!

Here are some photos of a few highlights of 2012:

Our Aluminum Agave sculpture went on display at Southwest Boulder & Stone in Pacific Beach.   The sculpture was hand hammered, cut, and riveted by Morgan in 2009 from salvaged aluminum rain gutters.

Great Egret in Fallbrook Meadow garden.  We got lots of great shots from clients of wildlife visiting their gardens!

Foster the Future, brainchild of the band Foster the People, help install a school garden in Imperial Beach.
Argia Designs owner and head designer Morgan with Mark and Cubby of Foster the People.  We all had a great time installing veggie beds, native plants, and a birdbath for the new garden and lots of neighborhood volunteers showed up to help and donate items!

Surfrider Foundation OFG Garden Installation at the Del Mar Fair.   Such a fun project with lots of volunteer help!  We took home 3 awards!

Goldfinch or Warbler?  Who can ID this friendly little guy enjoying a clients garden?



Lots and lots of new gardens!!


Reclaimed redwood and iron sheet sculpture donated to the Southwestern College Native Plant Garden.  



Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Rain Barrel Rebate Program Now Underway!

The City of San Diego now has a great rebate program for homeowners who choose to install rain barrels or cisterns!  Go to their website here to apply for the rebates or learn more about the program.

Bushman Systems Slimline Rain Tank
"Landscapes can soak up more than 50% of the water used at a typical San Diego home. Capturing rain from your roof is a quick way to conserve water and help prevent pollution by reducing the amount of runoff entering our storm drain system. City of San Diego (City) Public Utilities residential customers that are served by an individual water meter can receive a cash-back rebate when purchasing and installing a rain barrel and connecting it to the home’s rain gutter downspout. Read below to understand the program requirements and application process. Rebates will be distributed on a first-come, first served basis and funding is limited, so be sure to check this website regularly to determine funding availability. Read through the guidelines (PDF) prior to filling out an application (PDF)."
Rain barrels, cisterns, retention basins and other rainwater retention practices help to reduce water pollution and in some instances flooding by reducing the amount of rainwater that enters the stormwater system during a rain event.  They also provide our gardens with much needed natural rainfall that is much healthier for plants than our highly saline imported water (plus it's free!).

Saturday, November 12, 2011

New OFG in Oceanside!!

So excited about our newest Ocean Friendly Garden that we are designing with the Surfrider Foundation's San Diego Ocean Friendly Gardens Program!  The OFG program seeks to educate homeowners and professionals alike how to design and install sustainable gardens that reduce runoff pollution, reduce our need for fossil fuels through reduced maintenance and pesticide and fertilizer use, and reduce water use among other great benefits.

This property is a 5 unit rental which makes it the first San Diego OFG on a multi-unit residential property!  How cool are these property owners??

The GAP day installation is slated for Saturday December 3rd.  If you are free head on over and help our volunteers transform this old boring lawn into a gorgeous and sustainable Ocean Friendly Garden!

Here are the details below (check out the San Diego Ocean Friendly Garden facebook page for updates and more info and please RSVP for the address and other details!)



As the final part of our three part series, we will be transforming what was once a plot of grass into a beautiful Ocean Friendly Garden with our own hands! This is a great hands on way to learn some OFG techniques you can implement in your own garden! 

All are welcome, even those that were unable to attend our first two events. Lunch will be provided for participants. 

Please RSVP to ofg@surfridersd.org so we know approximately how much food to order. When you RSVP we will provide you with the street location.

Hope to see you there!



Monday, March 21, 2011

World Water Day March 22nd!

Tomorrow is World Water Day!

Celebrate your love of clean water and spread the word by doing one or more of the following:

1) Change regular sprinkler emitters to Hunter MP Rotators: Each emitter only costs around $5 and is 40% more efficient than regular spray emitters. Available at your local irrigation supply or Home Depot.
2) Remove unnecessary lawn: Replacing water thirsty turf in your front garden or parking strip with drought tolerant and native plantings can reduce your water use by 70% or more and eliminates the need for water polluting fertilizers and other chemicals.
3) Replace one or more downspouts with a rain chain and rain barrel: 1" of rain can generate several hundred gallons of water coming off of your roof, save that water and re-use it in your garden at a later time!
4) Mulch your planting beds: Mulching your plants with a shredded mulch helps to soak up rain, prevents plants from drying out as fast, and helps improve soil condition by allowing it to take in more water.
5) Build a dry stream: creating dips and swales in your garden that allow water to sit and soak in reduce the amount of water pollution generated during rain storms and save water use in the landscape by creating a "water bank" in your garden's soil.
6) Tell a neighbor about what you are doing and why.
 

7) Sign up for the Surfrider Foundation's Ocean Friendly Gardens program to learn more about how you can save water and prevent water pollution by making these and more simple changes in your garden!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Mulch sales benefit Ocean Friendly Gardens Program

As many of you know we are volunteering with Surfrider's Ocean Friendly Gardens Program to help educate homeowners about the impacts that their landscaping choices make on water quality and our local environment. 

Well we aren't the only ones!  El Corazon (aka AgriService Inc.)  in Oceanside is now donating $2 to the local Ocean Friendly Gardens program for every cubic yard of mulch or compost sold!!

Mulch and compost are vital to building healthy living soil in our urban garden environments and are also one of the best ways to conserve soil moisture in your garden!

Check out AgriService Inc's website for more information about the different mulches that they offer!

For more information on the OFG program visit their San Diego blog here.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Sustainability Certification and Ocean Friendly Gardens

Heavens how time flies or as my grandmother used to say "tempus fugit"!!

Much has been happening the past several months and I've managed to stay incredibly busy thanks to all of my wonderful clients, nursery and contractor friends who have kept me going!

Along with design work our work with Surfrider's Ocean Friendly Gardens program allowed us to attend the G3 (Green Garden Group's) Sustainability Certification Program last week which was incredibly informative (even for someone who has been promoting native and drought tolerant gardens for her entire career!). I am incredibly thankful to The Surfrider Foundation for putting us through the program and look forward to sharing the wealth of information that was provided!


On that note!! The next series of Ocean Friendly Garden's workshops begin next Tuesday night right here in Encinitas! Even for folks who have already converted their gardens this is a great series of workshops that cover all subjects related to converting and maintaining a low impact landscape (building healthy soils through organic methods, reducing or eliminating rainwater and dry water runoff, efficient irrigation methods, and much more). It also covers information on our water crises here This is essentially a reduced version of the sustainability seminar that we took though G3 so there is something to be learned for professionals as well as homeowners.

For more information and to sign up please visit Surfrider's San Diego OFG Blog and support their efforts to keep our oceans clean and us healthy!

Lastly and on a related subject, Encinitas Chiropractic (who I highly recommend for any Chiropractic and Massage needs!!) will be hosting a Yoga in the Park class on Saturday the 28th at 9:30am in Encinitas at Cottonwood Creek Park. The class is for all levels and is donation only with all proceeds benefiting The Surfrider Foundation (see told you it was related!).

Hope to see you there!!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Surfrider Ocean Friendly Garden Workshops

Surfrider Foundation has recently set up a new Ocean Friendly Gardens program to encourage homeowners and businesses to install or retrofit their landscapes to become more ocean friendly. Ocean Friendly Gardens (or OFG's) reduce runoff pollution, are drought tolerant, and need little or no fertilizers or chemicals to look beautiful!

Exactly what makes an OFG and how do you design and install one?

Sign up for their new series of workshops starting this April to find out!

Check it out! http://www.surfridersd.org/ofg.php