'Summer Strong Yard’ winner featured on local billboards in new awareness campaign
Janelle Auyeung, a master gardener who lives in Sacramento's Arden Park, created this water-wise garden over several years. Courtesy Janelle Auyeung
These billboards are hard to miss – and that’s the point.
Now starring on billboards throughout the Sacramento region, local residents with a knack for gardening while saving water are being saluted for their outstanding “Summer Strong Yards.” They’re the winners of a recent contest held by the Regional Water Authority and local water providers.
“Summer Strong Yards incorporate water-wise practices and efficient irrigation, making them tough enough to thrive during the Sacramento region’s hottest days while still looking great,” say the organizers. “Our honorees transformed their landscapes by ditching water-intensive lawns for vibrant, low-water native plants and smart drip irrigation systems. From Auburn to Elk Grove, their projects vary from DIY efforts to professionally designed masterpieces.”
Find all the winners here: https://bewatersmart.info/summer-strong-yard-winners/.
Among the winners was Sacramento’s Janelle Auyeung, whose garden truly is inspirational.
Waste not, want not; that philosophy underlines her creative approach to gardening. The result is a suburban oasis full of life – and food – to nourish the body as well as the soul.
“Over the past two decades, my garden has transformed from a typical lawn into a thriving ecosystem, driven by a vision of sustainability and resilience,” says Auyeung, who lives in Arden Park. “That’s what I’m passionate about – more sustainable living.”
Originally, her yard was a “plain old lawn,” devoid of biodiversity, she says. Little by little, she transformed it into her food- and flower-filled “Summer Strong Yard.”
Auyeung grew up in China, where her family produced much of its own food. “I learned to use resources sparingly,” she recalls.
Auyeung works as a scientist at the California Air Resources Board on climate issues, and has been in the environmental protection field for more than two decades, working on various initiatives. She has made sustainability her life focus and takes that same approach to her Sacramento landscape, which she has been working on for more than 20 years.
Kitchen waste becomes compost to feed her 30 fruit trees, abundant vegetable garden and thriving native plants. Homemade mulch retains moisture and keeps roots comfortable. She also “harvests” rainwater from a capture system attached to her home’s roof gutters and downspouts.
“When it rains, I can capture 3,000 gallons off the roof,” she says. “I use rainwater to brew compost tea. I put the compost tea into the drip irrigation system and it goes directly into the garden.”
Auyeung is both a Sacramento County master gardener and master food preserver. “I grow so much stuff, I had to learn how to preserve it,” she says.
With only a .3-acre lot, the yield from her bountiful garden is phenomenal. “Last year, I harvested more than 100 pounds of tomatoes,” she says. “I picked 200 pounds of persimmons. I have five kinds of citrus plus loquats, apricots, pomegranates; so much fruit.”
All while saving time and water, she says. “Once established, fruit trees don’t need too much work and there’s plenty to share with neighbors and co-workers.”
Besides edible plants, Auyeung concentrated on adding California natives as well as drought- and heat-tolerant flowering plants to attract pollinators.
“My garden is alive with so many beneficial insects,” she says. “Birds visit more often and stay longer. There’s so much biodiversity.
“Sustainability has become a way of life,” she adds. “My garden stands as a testament to what can be achieved with dedication, knowledge, and respect for the natural world.”
For more water-saving ideas and links to rebates, go to: https://bewatersmart.info/.
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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3
November still offers good weather for fall planting:
* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.
* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.
* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.
* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.
* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.
* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.
* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.
* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.
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