Rollingwood has provided area residents with an ideal template for planning new landscaping this spring with its “waterwise garden” at City Hall, 403 Nixon Drive.
The garden recently installed in front of City Hall contains no grass and is made up of plants aimed at significantly reducing the need for water (see story on page A1). With a continuation of the drought that has plagued Central Texas and destined to continue, according to the Lower Colorado River Authority and most experts, the city’s garden offers food for thought about landscaping in general.
Ideas for the garden began to materialize as a result of watering limitations during recent years. City officials deserve credit for offering a healthier alternative to simply ordering residents to reduce watering.
One of the only drawbacks of the new garden is a lack of labeling of plants, but city officials say it is still a work in progress, and that they are in the process of developing a plan to identify existing and future plants to make the garden more user-friendly.
Combined with the Rollingwood’s nearby community garden, the new garden and system of cisterns designed to capture rainwater for occasional irrigation during dry periods, Rollingwood is taking the lead in showing what one small city can do.
Once the city works out all of the details relating to which plants should be advocated and how to adequately label them, residents from throughout the Westbank and surrounding communities may be paying this small city a visit.
The garden is a testament to a small city taking a proactive approach to dealing with the drought, and residents have good reason to feel a sense of pride.
Speak Your Mind