Las Vegas landscape awards

On June 5, winners were announced for the 16^th annual Southern Nevada Landscape Awards. The awards were created by the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the Springs Preserve to award people that had water efficient landscape. Over half the water used in Southern Nevada is for landscaping purposes. The award is to encourage more people to use water efficient landscape in their yard. The award recognizes the most aesthetically pleasing Las Vegas landscape.

This year the Southern Nevada Landscape Awards recognized the late Linn Mills. He was a horticulturalist and worked closely with the Springs Preserve. There was a vegetable garden in memory of his featured at the awards ceremony.

The panel of judges formed for the SNWA and the Springs Preserve make their decision based on the overall beauty of the landscape, efficient water use, plant selection and design. Some of the landscapes judged use less than 75 percent less water than an average lawn. Since the inception of the awards, thousands of Southern Nevada businesses and residents have redone their landscape to be water efficient. More than 163 million square feet of lawn have been converted. Together about 8.8 billion gallons of water are saved annually.

The first place winner for a residential home designed by a homeowner was Ryan Mendre. His 2,000 square foot yard uses various types of cacti. Mendre stated, “I’m constantly having people — strangers — stopping to take pictures.  My kids will say, ‘Dad, there’s somebody in the front yard again taking pictures.’ … I even had a production company for movies and TV commercials come by and talk to me. They said they’d like to use it in something one day.”

The commercial design awarded first place was the Nevada Department of Transportation designed by Stantec. Second place was awarded to Charlie Frias Park designed by Clark County Public Works.

There were awards given to residential homes designed by a professional. First place was awarded to the Warden residence. There landscape was designed by Lage Design. The second and third place winners were both designed by Schilling Horticulture Group, which is a Water Smart contractor.

Two awards of excellence for community garden were given out. The recipients were Vegas Roots Community Garden and John S. Park Elementary School.

The first place winner for HOA design was awarded to Desert Shores Community Association. The second place winner was Sahara West Apartments for its outdoor common area. The apartment complex used to have tennis courts that were falling apart. It was replaced with an entertainment plaza that residents can use to watch movies, barbeque or simply relax. The property’s community director stated, “It was really exciting, winning an award like this. It was a major project, took months to do. We were thrilled with the outcome, and to all of a sudden win an award for it was just fantastic.”

If you are looking to spruce up your landscape, Showcase Land Care can help you. There well-trained staff can create the landscape you desire. They can even design a water efficient landscape that could get you in the running for next year’s awards. For more information about Las Vegas landscapers, contact 702.531.6789.