Last week the UC Davis Public Garden team put the finishing touches on the campus’s first landscape conversion project — the Shields Oak Grove Meadow. Congratulations to everyone involved in this team effort and to project manager Andrew Fulks, Director of the UC Davis Putah Creek Riparian Reserve!

Maintenance for this little-used lawn will be drastically reduced as mowing will move from once-a-week to once-a-year. In addition, when the grasses are established, irrigation frequency will move from 3-4 times a week to once a month.

To prepare for this new low-maintenance, low-water, and native grass landscape the 30-year-old sprinkler system was updated by the Grounds and Landscape Services irrigation team for water coverage suited to taller grasses; the soil was tilled and prepped by Arboretum Steward Robert Bohn, Sr.; and then seeded with with a mixture of native grasses by Jean-Paul Marié, Steward of the UC Davis Putah Creek Riparian Reserve.

For the grass enthusiasts out there the specific blend we used is as follows: Purple needlegrass (44.83%), Meadow barley (20.69%), California oniongrass (10.34%), Junegrass (6.90%), and Squirrel tail (17.24%).