Celebrating ‘Water-Wise’ Gardens in Santa Barbara County

Five years ago, Carpinteria resident Natasha Lohmus decided to transform her garden from a boring Bermuda grass lawn into a buzzing paradise for bees, butterflies, and birds. Today, that same garden is a lush and colorful haven, teeming with life and decorated with native plants that are fed using an innovative DIY aquaponics system. 

Her hard work in overhauling her yard was celebrated this week, as the 2024 WaterWise Garden Recognition Contest revealed the award-winning eco-friendly gardens across Santa Barbara County, with Lohmus’s lush oasis in Carpinteria taking the Grand Prize for being an example of “a vibrant masterpiece of colors and textures, a haven for wildlife, and a budget-friendly, water-wise wonderland,” according to the announcement from the County of Santa Barbara.

The contest was launched this spring by the Santa Barbara County Water Agency and participating local water providers as a way to encourage greenthumbs to show off their work and prove that sustainable gardens can be some of the most diverse and beautiful in the county.

“Despite receiving above-average rainfall this year, using water efficiently — rain or shine — is important to make conservation a way of life in California,” the county announcement states. “ This annual contest is vital in recognizing residents who are doing their part.”

Submissions came from all participating districts — Montecito Water District, Carpinteria Valley Water District, Santa Ynez River Water Conservation Improvement District 1, Vandenberg Village Community Services District, and the cities of Santa Barbara and Buellton — and each regional winner received an engraved sandstone sign to display in their gardens. 

Lohmus, the selection from the Carpinteria Valley Water District, took All-County Grand Prize.

Her garden was a labor of love, with Lohmus designing and planting everything herself, with only a little help for the heavy lifting. She handles all pruning, weeding, and watering, which is done mostly by hand with infrequent sprinklers.

The most impressive parts of her garden may be the rainwater collection — which uses a dry creek bed (made with rocks Lohmus collected) to redirect water from gutters and pathways — and the DIY aquaponics system, which she designed as a way to provide sustainable plant food using goldfish and koi waste to create nutrient-rich water for the native plants.  

Other award-winning gardens included Dale Zurawski of Montecito, Barbara Bartolome of Santa Barbara, and Len Fleckenstein of Buellton. All were recognized for “stunning displays of water-wise and high-efficiency irrigation,” and for demonstrating that “sustainable landscapes can be lush, colorful, low maintenance, and provide habitats for wildlife.”

 Click here to view photos of the winning gardens, and visit WaterWiseSB.org to learn more about low-maintenance gardening, rainwater harvesting, and more.