Inspiration Garden

We designed this garden with intention and detail, creating gardening themes with plants that attract pollinators, thrive in our sunny conditions, and capture our focus of attention with show-stopping color and textures. Placed and spaced so they can grow to their natural shapes and sizes ensures the plants require less maintenance and provide more natural beauty.

See all of the plants in the inspiration garden!

Take a look at this photo essay that drove our thinking and inspired the finish of the garden.

Our garden is also a classroom! Visit our gardening workshop page to see what workshops we have scheduled to help with your gardening needs. 

Whether you are starting a complete landscape makeover or simply tweaking your existing garden to be more water efficient, visit our gardening and irrigation page for tips on creating the most water-savvy and beautiful landscape on the block.

We are in this water-saving game together. We have resources available that includes rebates, Water Wise House Calls, best practices, and more. Check out these resources below for more details:

• Roseville Save Water
• Be Water Smart 

Having a garden with only California native plants offers many learning opportunities. We wouldn’t say that it’s a downside, but there is a great deal to learn. It is important to learn about their preferred soils, planting and watering techniques requirements, and pests. While there are an increasing number of nurseries and seasonal plant sales, it’s important to understand that all native plants appropriate for our region may not be available or have limited availability. Additionally, all native plants are not low-water-use plants, so careful selection is required.

While California native plants are well-adapted to the local climate and conditions and may require less maintenance than non-natives, knowledge about plant-specific care (pruning, soil amendments, etc.) is needed. Learn more at the California Native Plant Society.

Learn about the wildlife (birds, bees, pollinators, etc.) in your area so that you can select native and non-native plants that will provide habitat and help support them throughout their life cycles, keeping in mind that plant diversity is important. Avoid using plants with pest and disease issues and, instead, select plants that are pest and disease resistant. Embrace the conditions of your property and select plants that prefer those conditions. The objective is to mimic nature – the natural environment in which the plants you select exist.

The Inspiration Garden was created to serve many purposes. A top priority is that it’s a place of learning – a place to inspire Roseville residents to create their own beautiful, water-efficient garden. A variety of classes and programs are offered at the Utility Exploration Center (UEC) and this Garden is in itself a classroom. Trees and plants also serve many functions or purposes, and we are fortunate to live in a region where a large number and variety of native and non-native plants adapted to our soils, climate, topography, geological and geographical conditions are available.

Also, different plants thrive in different soil types, so having a variety of plants suited to the soil at the UEC as well as other soil types in our region broadens the palette of plants residents can use in their gardens.

It's beneficial to have diverse types of low water-use plants because they can increase a garden’s biodiversity. This region’s diverse fauna – animals, birds, bees, pollinators, beneficial insects, etc., are attracted to and supported by the plants in the Inspiration Garden. Of course, there are certain butterflies, bees, and others that prefer specific native plants and some of these plants are an important part of the Garden, too. This Garden will evolve, and new plant species will be introduced from time-to-time.

A variety of plants is also important to highlight the multitude of shapes, sizes, and textures, as well as flower, leaf, and bark colors in the Garden. By using non-native, disease- and pest-resistant plants, the use of pesticides and other harmful materials can be reduced or eliminated. In the Inspiration Garden, pesticides are not used.

Care needs to be taken to ensure that invasive non-native plants are not used, as this can disrupt local ecosystems. Learn more about alternate plants to use instead of invasives at PlantRight.org.

Low-water-use plants can contribute to water conservation efforts in areas with water scarcity issues. Once established, these plants are adapted to survive with less supplemental water, reducing the demand for potable water to irrigate them, which, in turn, reduces the pressure on local water resources.

Considering a plant's water needs is crucial to ensure a garden thrives and evolves to continue to provide its intended biodiverse, regenerative purpose. In regions where water is scarce, using low-water-use plants can help conserve water resources, decrease the garden's environmental impact, and save the gardener time and money on irrigation. It's also essential for the health of the plants, as both overwatering and underwatering can result in plant death, adding another expense to replace it.

Non-native low-water-use plants can benefit local ecosystems in several ways. Some non-native plants can fill specific ecological niches, such as providing food or habitat for certain wildlife. Additionally, non-native plants can contribute to the overall biodiversity of an area, promoting resilience in the face of environmental changes.