Landscape Classes

Burbank Residents: Have you always wanted to know how to have a beautiful landscape around your home, conserve water and save money on your water bill?

If you said YES then we have a class for you!

The California Friendly Landscape Training program is a FREE workshop offered by Burbank Water and Power for its residential customers. These workshops, conducted in conjunction with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, will cover the basics in Landscape design, Plants for Southern California homes, Efficient Irrigation Systems and Soil, Fertilizers and Watering. In addition, these workshops have been created specifically for landscaping in California with a focus on water conservation landscaping techniques.

For more information and class schedule, please call Burbank Water and Power Conservation at (818) 238-3730.

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Burbank Water and Power Offers Free Landscape Classes for Burbank Residents

For many years, BWP has been offering California Friendly Landscape Training classes to Burbank residents. This series of classes are provided free to our customers, courtesy of funding from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

The classes are held on four consecutive Saturdays and cover the following topics:

• Basic Landscape Design
• Landscape Plants
• Sprinkler Systems
• Water and Fertilizing

All classes are held on Saturdays from 8:30 am to Noon. Class size is limited. Please call BWP’s Conservation Services at 818-238-3730 to reserve your space receive the location address.

Here’s more information on what is covered in each of the four sessions.

1. Basics of Landscape Design

This class covers the basics of landscape design, and the following topics are covered:

• Your landscape as part of your living space
• How to develop a landscape plan
• Hardscapes, patios, etc.
• Plant Selection

A general overview of how a landscape architect approaches a design for a homeowner. This class gives participants ideas on how to organize their thoughts and resources to develop a landscape plan that works best for them. Sample landscape plans and photos are reviewed and plan development is discussed. Emphasis is placed on producing a low-water using landscape.

A handbook is available that includes (1) a copy of the test slides reviewed in class, (2) a short summary of the topics covered in class, (3) a checklist for designing landscape use areas and, (4) a formula for estimating the annual cost of watering a typical landscape.

2. California Friendly Plants

A plant identification and plant use seminar that covers 25 native and low-water-use plants.

Topics covered are:

• The Benefits of using native plants
• Plant Selection Tips
• Planting Guidelines
• Maintenance Recommendations
• Class covers shrubs, groundcover, trees and multi-category plants

A full color handbook is available that includes photos, descriptions, and other useful information about each of the 25 plants. Also included in the handbook is a section on native plant selection, care and maintenance.

3. Efficient Irrigation Systems

This class looks at the major design and maintenance principles of both overhead sprinklers and drip irrigation. The following topics will be covered:

• Major irrigation design principles
• The right sprinkler for the situation
• The major overhead sprinkler types
• Types of drip irrigation
• Sprinkler system maintenance

A demonstration sprinkler display is used to show various sprinkler types. Sprinkler components are passed around for examination as the instructor discusses each. A handbook is available that includes a copy of the class presentation and a short summary of the topics covered in class.

4. Soils, Fertilizers and Watering

This class begins where the Efficient Irrigation Systems class leaves off. The major topics of the class are:

• How long should you run your sprinklers?
• Major influences that affect plant-watering needs
• How to estimate the application rate of a sprinkler system
• Soil types and how to measure soil moisture

An in-class exercise teaches participants how to conduct a simple catch-can test on turf areas using coffee cups to determine distribution uniformity. A scheduling guide is provided to each participant. A handbook is available, which includes (1) a copy of the presentation reviewed in class, (2) a short summary of the topics covered in class.

• How does soil affect plant growth and watering?
• Basics of soils and the major soil types
• How to determine soil moisture levels

Fertilizers: The instructor will discuss the basic elements of plant growth and deficiency symptoms as well as the major elements of commercial fertilizers.

A handbook is available, which includes a copy of the class presentation and a short summary of the topics covered in class.