Denver changing summer plantings to conserve water
May 2003
U.S. Water News Online
DENVER -- May showers are not going to bring more
flowers. The city will plant half the normal number of flowers
this spring and will Xeriscape the downtown pedestrian mall
to conserve water.
Watering restrictions are in place in Denver and other Front
Range cities in hopes of filling reservoirs sapped by one
of the state's worst-ever droughts. In Denver, officials will
only plant 150,000 flowers, instead of the normal 300,000.
Parks crews still plan large floral displays at such parks
as Cheesman, City, Civic Center, Ruby Hill, Washington,
Viking and Village Place, but they hope to cut water use in
half. They'll save water by not planting in peripheral areas
and using plants that require less water, including columbines,
lavenders, penstemons and ornamental grasses.
``We've always done strictly annuals,'' said Gary Douglas,
greenhouse superintendent. ``We've never had a need
to worry about having enough water until now.''
The landscaping on the 16th Street pedestrian mall will be
different, too. Landscape contractor TruGreen LandCare will
switch out the pansies and junipers with Xeriscape vegetation
in the 270 planters along the 16 blocks. The plants are expected
to help cut the mall's water use by 30 percent.
TruGreen manager Jeff Miller said the switch to Xeriscaping
is a long-term obligation to adjust to Colorado's climate.
``We have to remember that this is a semiarid climate, a
desert,'' Miller said. ``We created this little oasis
called Denver. The data shows us droughts are part of the
natural cycle, so it is our obligation to adjust to that,
not the other way around.''
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