County-Wide Contest Recognizes Stunning, Water-Conserving Gardens
News Channel 3-12
Below is a press release the Santa Barbara County Public Works Department regarding the WaterWise Garden Recognition Contest
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – The 2025 WaterWise Garden Recognition Contest is an annual floral celebration in the County that highlights remarkable water-saving home gardens. The Santa Barbara County Water Agency and participating local water purveyors encouraged residents to partake in the garden competition, offering both regional and county-wide awards. This year’s competitors included the Montecito Water District, Carpinteria Valley Water District, and the City of Santa Barbara.
The title for the grand prize county-wide winner went to Teri and Pat Guillies of the Montecito Water District for their beautiful native-dominated garden.
Teri and Pat call their garden a “pollinators’ dream,” but wonderland or paradise would be even more accurate. While sweeping ocean views may initially captivate visitors, the landscape’s vibrant mix of color and texture quickly steals the show. Built along a descending flagstone path, the first peek of the garden offers a showcase of shifting green hues that belie the colorful spectacle below. Thoughtfully designed for beauty and resilience, it’s an eco-friendly masterpiece bursting with blooms from over 65%California native plants, such as artemisia, sagebrush, yarrow, blue-eyed grass, island buckwheat, California lilac, an abundance of salvias, and more. Teri, a certified Master Gardener, designed, built, and maintains the entire garden, utilizing hand-watering and drip irrigation techniques. The recirculating fountain, rain barrel, and an array of fruit trees, including olive, avocado, and pineapple guava, provide the garden with a final polish that doesn’t neglect functionality. And why does Teri go through all this effort? She’d rather not pay for a gym when she can get a great workout tending the garden while also welcoming a buzzing pollinator brigade of birds, butterflies, and bees! With its coastal, colorful landscape, this year’s grand prize winner is clearly a Santa Barbara County classic.
Other finalists included Jeanette and Robert Munoz from the Carpinteria Valley Water District, and Fred and Janice Maggiore from the City of Santa Barbara, each showcasing their own dazzling water-wise creations. You can view the winning gardens at www.WaterWiseSB.org/4707/_2025.
This year’s prizes were more enticing than ever—beyond the traditional engraved sandstone boulder trophy, winners received native wildflower seed samples from S&S Seeds, and an array of equipment from landscaping and irrigation kits to shears provided by Aqua-Flo Supply, SiteOne Landscape Supply, Arbor Services, Inc. The regional champions were awarded a $100 gift card for SB Natives Nursery, while the county-wide winner received an impressive $250 gift card from Lotusland!
These exceptional gardens demonstrate that water-efficient, sustainable landscapes can be lush, colorful, and wildlife-friendly. The choice is economical, too – many winners replaced their original lawns and now enjoy the added benefit of a lower water bill. With lower-than-average rainfall this year, smart water usage remains crucial—rain or shine—to make Conservation a Way of Life in Santa Barbara County.
Visit www.WaterWiseSB.org to discover more about this year’s garden champions and to acquire tips on low-maintenance gardening, rainwater harvesting, and more!
The Latest Breaking News, Weather Alerts, Sports and More Anytime On Our Mobile Apps. Keep Up With the Latest Articles by Signing Up for the News Channel 3-12 Newsletter.