The first landscape in Garrett County has been certified as Water-Wise, an exclusive program of University of Maryland Extension, which highlights properties that are installing best management practices to promote water conservation, native plants, stormwater management, and much more! Richard (Dick) and Betsy Potts are a great garden match for the first certification in Garrett County, as Betsy is a co-Vice President of the Mountain Laurel Garden Club, and Dick is a Garrett County Master Gardener. Their garden is located on Lake Shore Drive and highlights many native plants, as well as tiered beds and stunning containers.
The program is based on the popular Bay-Wise Conservation Landscape Program.
The goal of Water-Wise is to encourage homeowners to implement and maintain conservation landscaping in their lawn and gardens. In order to qualify for this designation, interested landowners need to complete an electronic application, go through the yardstick and get at least 36 inches or points. The yardstick outlines many possible actions that homeowners are completing in their yard. Once the homeowner has done both of those actions, a Master Gardener will come out to the home and go through the yardstick and check off the 36″ and award a small, blue metal sign to display in their yard. Once more people are certified, a county map will be created to show where landscapes are located.
Water-wise was created in early 2019, and Master Gardeners were trained then; however, due to Covid-19 restrictions, the actual roll-out to the public has been slower than anticipated. The program was created in partnership with the following: Garrett County Watershed Coordinator, several DNR Representatives, University of Maryland Extension Faculty, University of Maryland Master Gardener Program Volunteers, Garrett College, Mountain Laurel Garden Club, Western Mountains Chapt. of MD Native Plant Society. We also had several funding partners: Garrett County Government, Deep Creek Watershed Foundation, and the University of Maryland Extension.
If you are interested in learning more about the program or would like to have a yardstick printed and mailed to you, please call Ashley at 301-334-6960 or email abachtel@umd.edu.
