Water-Wise Garden Tour

2008 TOUR – SATURDAY JUNE 7
9:00 A.M. TO 3 P.M.

DO YOU HAVE A WATER-WISE GARDEN?

Dallas Water Utilities (DWU) invites you to attend its 13th Annual Water-Wise Garden Tour on Saturday, June 7 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The self-guided, free tour showcases Water-Wise gardens throughout the City of Dallas and in surrounding cities. There will be26 sites to visit—feel free to choose your own route and visit some or all of the gardens. DWU partners with the Dallas Master Gardeners who will be hosting free, 15-minute microtalks on how to plant a Water-Wise garden. These microtalks will start at the top of each hour at the tour’s 3 headquarter locations:

You can view the 2008 Water-Wise Garden Tour map here. Once this map is opened, you can click on any of the numbered garden locations or lettered tour headquarter locations to take a virtual tour (i.e., view photos and the location of each garden).

Tour Headquarters
CENTRAL: City of Dallas - White Rock Pump Station - 2900 White Rock Road - Dallas, TX 75214
NORTH: City of Addison - Les Lacs Linear Park - 3901 Beltway Drive - Addison, TX 75001
SOUTH: City of Duncanville - Armstrong Park - 300 E. Wheatland Road - Duncanville, TX 75116

2008 Winners
5935 Tree Shadow Court - Dallas, TX 75252
6804 Summer Meadow Lane - Dallas, TX 75252
6915 Blue Mesa Drive - Dallas, TX 75252
1413 Tree Farm Drive - Plano, TX 75093
5112 Coral Cove Court - Plano, TX 75093

Demonstration Gardens
Joe Field Demonstration Garden - 2311 Joe Field Road - Dallas, TX 75229
Robert E. Lee Elementary School - 2911 Delmar Avenue - Dallas, TX 75206
Alger Park - "Dale's Garden" - 9530 Ash Creek Drive - Dallas, TX 75228
Oak Cliff Founders Park - 1300 N. Zang Boulevard - Dallas, TX 75203
Hope Community Garden - 1108 Cristler Avenue - Dallas, TX 75223
City of Coppell - Wagon Wheel Tennis Park - 950 Creekview Drive - Coppell, TX 75019
City of Coppell - Coppell Community Garden - 450 S. Denton Tap Road - Coppell, TX 75019
City of Irving - Valley View Municipal Complex - 333 Valley View Lane - Irving, TX 75061
Upper Trinity Regional Water District - 900 N. Kealy Street - Lewisville, TX 75057

Past Winners
4060 Creekdale Drive - Dallas, TX 75229
7104 Westbrook Lane - Dallas, TX 75214
7045 Greentree Lane - Dallas, TX 75214
9535 Riverton Avenue - Dallas, TX 75218
9316 W. Lake Highlands Drive - Dallas, TX 75218
2136 Leander Drive - Dallas, TX 75211
2126 Rohne Drive - Cedar Hill, TX 75104
1013 Miranda Drive - Mesquite, TX 75149
1404 Sussex Drive - Plano, TX 75075

What Is Water-Wise Gardening?

Water-Wise gardening is also called "Xeriscape" and it is quality landscaping that conserves water and protects the environment using the following seven principles:

Start with a plan
Analyze and improve the soil
Use practical turf areas
Select appropriate plants
Use efficient irrigation to make every drop count
Use mulches to conserve water and prevent weed growth
Maintain appropriately

Call for Entries

The Water-Wise Garden Tour awards are open to all landscapes within the Dallas city limits and the city limits of Dallas’ wholesale customers or reciprocal cities. Those cities include: Addison, Carrollton, Cedar Hill, Cockrell Hill, The Colony, Coppell, DeSoto, Duncanville, Farmers Branch, Flower Mound, Garland, Glenn Heights, Grand Prairie, Highland Park, Park, Hutchins, Irving, Lancaster, Lewisville, Mesquite, Plano, Red Oak, Richardson, Seagoville and University Park. Up to five residential award winners will receive prizes. Previous award winners are invited participate in the tour, but may not compete for prizes for five years after receiving an award. Community gardens, demonstration gardens, commercial gardens and City of Dallas employees are only eligible for the recognition but not for prizes.

Judging Criteria

Design Points (25 points)

Competition (10)

Aesthetic appeal (10)

Sensitivity to site (5)

Suitability (25 points)

Low-water-demand plants (15)

Use of non-vegetative materials such as fences, walls, walks, etc. (10)

Maintenance (25 points)

Low maintenance, ease of maintenance (10)

Quality; no weeds, neat and clean, disease and insect free, good horticultural practices (15)

Water Conservation (25 points)

Use of native or adapted plants (5)

Use of mulches (5)

Soil improvements (5)

Efficient irrigation (5)

Reduced lawn area (5)

Past Water-Wise Garden Tours

2007 Water-Wise Garden Tour Map (Click on the numbers for a virtual tour)

2006 Water-Wise Garden Tour Map (Click on the numbers for a virtual tour)

For Further Information on the Water-Wise Garden Tour

Noel Nielson
(214) 670-5378 or (214) 670-3155