The Beauty of Water Efficiency

Beautiful trees, fragrant flowers, and delicate herbs—did you know you could have all this beauty and water efficiency, too? The Fair Oaks Water Efficient Landscape (WEL) Garden will show you how!

What is a “WEL Garden”?

A WEL Garden is a living landscape demonstration located in the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center in Fair Oaks Park, featuring drought-tolerant plants, trees, and shrubs. Is it a dry, desert-like garden? No way! Water-efficient gardening allows you to enjoy a beautiful garden with an array of colors, textures, and fragrances—all while also using less water.

The FOWD WEL Garden features a half-acre of landscaping, including four backyard exhibits with the following themes:

• California Native Garden
• Meditation Garden
• Common Variety Garden
• Mediterranean Garden

These exhibits showcase different design possibilities for unique and beautiful water-wise landscaping, as well as demonstrate water conservation techniques, including:

• Recirculating, low-flow fountains.
• Low-flow and drip irrigation systems.
• Methods for reducing evaporation and artificial irrigation.
• Proper placement of shade trees.

The FOWD WEL Garden is located in the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center at Fair Oaks Park (on Fair Oaks Boulevard, east of Sunrise Boulevard, and just south of Madison Avenue). The Garden is open to the public year-round, free of charge, for self-guided tours, regularly scheduled irrigation demonstrations, and water-efficient gardening workshops.