If you want to see how the big boys go about gardening during a drought, you should check out the expansive Conservatory Garden maintained by the Castaic Lake Water Agency this Saturday at the agency’s Open House.
And if you do visit them Saturday, taking part in their “150,000th Garden Visitor Celebration,” you might just win a whole lot of green – a $150 gift certificate to a local nursery – in a raffle draw.
The CLWA’s Annual Open House this year is welcoming – and rewarding – its 150,000th garden visitor. Every adult that visits the CLWA booth in the Conservatory Garden will receive a raffle ticket for a chance to win a $150 gift certificate from a local nursery.
The garden visit celebration takes place 10:30 a.m. to noon.
In its pitch to draw in visitors, agency officials are telling Santa Clarita Valley residents to join them – since May is Water Awareness Month – and “celebrate the 150,000 visitors” that have toured their garden since its inception in 1996.
Open House guests are encouraged to the agency’s Conservatory Garden and Learning Center which is located on the hill above Central Park. The Conservatory Garden and Learning Center is a community project put on by CLWA in an effort to increase water awareness in the Santa Clarita Valley.
“We have everything you need to know about water-wise gardening,” the agency boasts on its website.
And, when you visit the Conservatory garden, located on a high plateau against the “spectacular backdrop” of the Santa Clarita Valley, you’ll find a unique garden thriving with more than 350 varieties of drought-tolerant plants, flowers, and grasses.
Agency officials are encouraging visitors to “discover water-wise gardening” through instructional signage, gardening displays, and hands-on demonstrations.
The agency’s celebration doesn’t end with its garden visit celebration. Other events are scheduled to take place in Central Park from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
CLWA’s Open House events slated for Central Park include:
– free face painting, fun photo booth, Fresher’s Soft Frozen Lemonade and popcorn
– children’s show – “H2O, where did you go?” at 9:30 a.m. 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
– Ranger Frank and his “Wild Friends.”
– smart gardening workshop from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., courtesy of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works
– working model of the agency’s water treatment plant process
– twenty vendors “with great water saving information” for inside and outside your home
Anyone interested in visiting the CLWA and wanting to know more is urged to visit the agency’s website at CLWA.
661-287-5527
on Twitter @jamesarthurholt
