In an era that brings a need to be water wise, Draper City is hoping to make it convenient for residents to find water-saving ideas for their own yards. The city officially opened a community water conservation garden in October at the city’s Parks & Recreation office. 

After being in the building for two years, and with aging landscaping surrounding it, the Parks and Recreation staff came up with the idea to turn their office’s yard into an example of a conservation garden. The staff designed and chose the materials, put the project out for bid, and worked with the contractor on implementing the plan. 

“You don’t have to have grass that’s a big water waste,” said Rhett Ogden, Draper’s Parks and Recreation director. 

The front yard features the newest technology in artificial turf. “Artificial turf is green year-round, it doesn’t take any water or fertilizer, it doesn’t take maintenance or mowing every week. It’s a great option,” Ogden said. The front yard demonstrates how to capture rain with a water barrel and reuse that rainwater to irrigate your plants. The barrel has a spigot for connecting a hose to water plants. “It’s a way to repurpose the rain water,” Ogden said. Also featured in the front are various sizes and colors of rock that offer contrast and diversity to the landscape. And there’s an example of a low-water-use fountain for those that still want that special feature.

“One of the main things are interpretive, informative signs that have a QR code people can scan for more information. Every species of plant has its own, and each plant has a dedicated web page that it directs you to from the QR code,” Ogden said. Those informative signs and QR codes are found throughout the entire front and backyards on the various plants and products.

The backyard is an example of new ideas for an activity zone. It features corn hole, a fire pit, lounge chairs, a barbecue and a raised garden bed. “It demonstrates that you can have an active backyard, but it doesn’t have to be all grass. We do have a small section of grass, and Jordan Valley Water Conservancy isn’t opposed to a little bit, but you don’t have to do your whole yard in grass,” Ogden said. 

“We wanted a place where residents could come to learn more about water-wise landscape and the rebates available, and to get ideas for plants that work well in this area…something local people could see, plus it beautified our offices,” Ogden said. 

The garden is located at 12350 South and 800 East. It’s open to the public seven days per week during daylight hours. λ