Friendly gardens use less water

Alanna Hilbert was all about the farm animals at the Orange County Fair Tuesday.

After visiting the piglets at Centennial Farm, the 7-year-old was excited to see Blue Moo, the blue cow covered in a floral design stationed at the Mesa Consolidated Water District’s Water Wise Demonstration Garden.

“She’s pretty,” Alanna said after taking a picture with her four-hoofed friend.

But the life-size cow isn’t there just to look pretty. The water district intends to keep her at the fairgrounds, where she will teach children about water conservation.

In its second year at the fair, the demonstration garden aims to show the community that gardens can be beautiful and environmentally friendly.

“We want to show people that they can make a colorful garden without using lots of water,” said Barry Carlson, a research efficiency specialist for the district.

“There is more and more of a realization among the public that we are going to go into a drought and everyone wants to have a nice garden,” added board member Trudy Ohlig-Hall.

Featuring sustainable design, climate-appropriate plants and efficient irrigation systems, California Friendly gardens with drip irrigation use three gallons of water per square foot each year, as opposed to the 40 gallons an average garden would need.

In addition to using less water, the special irrigation system benefits the environment by not producing runoff.

With flowers that span all colors of the rainbow, the garden attracts hundreds of fairgoers each day like butterflies, Carlson said. This year, the district added several new plants, an arbor and a shaded table.

Some of the featured plants include rosemary, monkey flower, California fuchsia and desert willow.

Carlson will present demonstrations on California Friendly gardens and sprinkler systems at 2 p.m. Thursday, 1 p.m. Saturday, 4 p.m. Aug. 2 and 3 and 2 p.m. Aug. 4 in the Silo Building at Centennial Farm.

The district also offers 3-hour workshops several times a year at its Costa Mesa headquarters. For more information, go to www.mesawater.org or call (949) 631-1205.

To see staff galleries of the Orange County Fair, click here.

To Do:

The first 2,007 children ages 12 and under will receive a free Orange County Fair cow hat. Also, at 1:30 p.m., all youngsters are invited to participate in the first-ever Cowabunga Kids Parade at Livestock Lane.

GUSTER AND TOAD THE WET SPROCKET

Guster’s alternative rock music has been featured in several television shows and films, such as “Wedding Crashers” and “Life as a House,” and the four-member group promises an energetic live performance at 7 p.m. at Pacific Amphitheater, with Toad the Wet Sprocket and The 88 opening.

For information and tickets, go to www.ocfair.com.

THE MAGIC OF FRANK THURSTON

Each year, magician Frank Thurston dazzles fairgoers of all ages with his tricks and jokes, complete with white rabbits and rainbow-colored scarves.

His show begins at 7 p.m. at Cowabunga Beach in the Ralphs Family Fair Way.