A round-up of local home and garden news and events.
WATER-EFFICIENT PERMITS LAW… The City of Palo Alto Development Services Department has begun requiring an Outdoor Water Efficient Landscape Permit to be issued separately from building permits. The new requirement went into effect on Jan. 1. This new process will enforce the Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO) while streamlining the landscape submittal process. The permit allows building owners to complete critical activities associated with finalizing a building permit separate from the landscape work. To support the new permit process, the Development Services Outdoor Water Efficiency Compliance webpage contains several resources including the Outdoor Water Efficiency Landscape Trigger Permit Worksheet, MWELO Submittals and Guidelines, and a MWELO Compliance Video training.
SAVE THE DATE … The Gamble Garden Spring Tour dates are Friday and Saturday, April 28 and 29. Look for more information and ticket sales closer to the date at gamblegarden.org.
JAPANESE MAPLE CLASS … The De Anza Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society will offer a program on pruning Japanese maples at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 18. The talk will be in Room 12 of the Hillview Community Center, 97 Hillview Ave., Los Altos. Arnie Cornez, a longtime volunteer at the Hakone Japanese Gardens in Saratoga, will share his expertise on the selection, care, and pruning of maples. For additional information on the program, go to deanza-ars.com.
DREAMING OF REPLACING YOUR LAWN? … Gamble Gardens might boost your plan with a class on Saturday, Feb. 25 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The class, called “Replace Your Front Lawn with an Eye-Catching Garden,” will teach participants how to replace or shrink their front lawns with flowering and edible plants that provide seasonal interest and drought tolerance. After class, the course teacher, Kim Raftery, will offer a tour of two gardens she designed. In the class, she will discuss alternatives to having a conventional lawn, including ways to remove a lawn that has invasive weeds in it and how to lay out your new garden with paths, low fences or walls, planting beds, boulders, seating areas, water features and other garden art. Raftery owns Raftery Garden Design. Fees for the class are $25 for members of Gamble Gardens and $35 for non-members. Class size is 40 people. To register, go to gamblegarden.org.