The WaterSmart Landscape Contest is an opportunity for residential water agency customers to showcase their best, water wise landscapes that create more beauty with less water. More information on the contest and winners from other agencies can be viewed on the WaterSmart Landscape Contest website.
The next contest will launch in Spring 2027.
Sweetwater Authority 2026 Contest Winner
A Living Tapestry of Nature and Art
Barbara W. began transforming her front lawn into a water-wise landscape in 2013, replacing traditional turf with succulents and gradually incorporating native and pollinator-friendly plants throughout her ¾-acre property. Over the years, she removed large expanses of ice plant and turf from the sloped areas of her yard, replacing them with fibrous mulch and drought-tolerant native plantings. Working independently, Barbara personally designed, installed, and continues to maintain the landscape, creating an evolving outdoor space that reflects both sustainability and creativity.
Known as Our Rustic Roost, the property is filled with charm, personality, and countless places to pause and enjoy nature. Nearly every corner and garden niche features a thoughtfully designed seating area, inviting visitors to slow down and take in the landscape's beauty. Highlights include a dedicated owl viewing area, where a pair of owls have raised three families in an owl box overlooking the property, as well as “The Chick Inn,” home to Barbara’s chickens.
Additional features throughout the landscape include a Zen-inspired garden, a windmill, a vegetable garden, a mosaic patio, and a “She Shed” for storing gardening supplies. Just outside the shed, a quaint bistro table and chairs create a cozy setting that evokes a small French countryside café. There is even a bed nestled in a large, grassy, shaded area designed for peaceful relaxation and for enjoying the surrounding scenery.
Barbara has also incorporated many artistic and deeply personal touches throughout the property, including a mosaic-covered tree stump and a custom directional sign pointing to some of her family’s favorite places around the world. Together, these details create a landscape that feels both personal and dreamlike — a truly magnificent space that blends sustainability, creativity, and nature into a one-of-a-kind paradise.
The landscape also incorporates multiple sustainable water sources. Runoff from a neighboring property is redirected through small rivulets into a bioswale that helps irrigate the orchard. Additional water-conservation measures include three rain barrels and a greywater system that reuses laundry water to support the landscape.
PLANTS USED
Barbara’s favorite plants throughout the landscape include bush sunflower (Encelia), California sagebrush (Artemisia californica), varieties of mallow, Matilija poppies (Romneya), Nevin’s woolly sunflower (Constancea nevinii), Santa Cruz Island buckwheat (Eriogonum arborescens), Dudleya succulents, and seaside daisy (Erigeron glaucus).
