Sierra Madre City Hall

After several years of drought, the city of Sierra Madre declared a stage two water emergency in 2013. They required the consumption of water to drop by 20 percent and then 30 percent in 2014. To conform to their own measures, it adopted water reduction methods around the City Hall. This included the renovation of the landscaping around the buildings with the help of the Sierra Madre Garden Club to focus on drought tolerant grasses and native plants. The new garden was planted on November 7, 2015 with the help of 75 community volunteers and funded, not by the city, but by donations from the community. The gardens are found on the Sierra Madre Blvd entrance and continue in the covered pavilion and towards the parking lot where one of the site’s bioswales can be found covered in a lush meadow. The plantings are divided into sections, the Fire Garden, Chaparral Garden, Wildlife Garden, Edible Garden, Rain Garden, and Shade Garden. Each section has a plaque with information about the garden and the plant species featured there. Each patch of grass in the front of the buildings highlights a different drought tolerant grass species with a plaque stating the type. You will find a lovely mix of plants, especially a spicebush, which has ruby red flowers in the summer, as well as lovely giant chain ferns in the shade garden. Overall, this is a wonderful way to encourage the community to plant native plants.