Bio-Regional Approach to
Landscape Architecture & Planning

The average annual precipitation (including rainfall and water from snowmelt) in Reno is a scant seven inches. Water for irrigation, while adequate, is not plentiful: lawn watering is permanently rationed at two days each week.

At Interpretive Gardens, we specialize in the creation of low-maintenance, low-irrigation xeriscape gardens for homes and businesses in the Truckee Meadows. We have a list of recommended shrubs, trees, ground covers, perennials and grasses that have been chosen for their low-water requirements. They have a good success rate in our area, although success can't be guaranteed because of a lot of natural and management variables.

 

	The Great Basin landscape treatment evokes the sagebrush-dominated desert and pinyon-juniper woodlands that sweep from Reno to the east. It is characterized by a variety of native desert plants that are spaced to expose a rich “desert pavement” of scattered quarry rock. Great Basin plants require very little to no water once established and are drip irrigated. When water conservation is a high priority or a desert look is desired, we use this treatment for foreground plantings, to separate other treatments, or to provide buffers and visual screens.
The Sierra Nevada landscape treatment creates the bushiest part of the landscape and includes evergreen tree and shrub masses and deciduous riparian areas that suggest the mountains which rise west from Reno. A deep wood chip mulch mimics natural forest duff to reinforce the concept. The major uses for the Sierra Nevada treatment are to form visual screens and backgrounds for garden areas and to create favorable microclimates by providing windbreaks and deciduous trees which give winter sun and summer shade. Plants used flourish with low to moderate amounts of water supplied by drip irrigation.
	The Truckee meadows treatment is used in active-use areas and where lots of seasonal color is desired. It includes wild flowers and meadow grasses as well as the turf areas so important for recreational use. Plant selections can coordinate with the lush Sierra Nevada areas or can include drier, native wild flowers to work with Great Basin plantings. Rounded river cobbles and boulders are used as accents to evoke the region’s native meadows. This treatment is often planted from seed; little or no mulch is used as the dense plant growth forms a living mulch.
The Streamside treatment creates a place in our landscape for thirstier plants. Dry streams, constructed of rounded river cobbles and boulders can be used to visually enhance drainage ways, correct erosion problems, and provide a garden focal point. Interplanted with moderate to high water-use plants such as those which grow along mountain streams, our dry streams have a beautiful, natural look.
	Bog treatment-In nature, bogs are wetland ecosystems with soils consisting mainly of decayed organic matter. They are found in low lying areas where water collects. In a landscape, a bog can be designed to turn drainage problems into assets. Among the plants that flourish here are sedges, rushes and cattails.

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