PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson County commissioners Monday approved funding for a demonstration garden in Sequim that will display plants that can survive without irrigation.
“We’ve been waiting on Jefferson County to sign the agreement for a while,” said Joe Holtrop, district manager for the Clallam Conservation District, which is building the garden.
“We are glad that we can get this started.”
The garden is to provide an example of low impact development.
Holtrop said Jefferson County is involved in the process because it applied for the Environmental Protection Agency grant to subsidize the project, which includes demonstration gardens in two Jefferson County locations.
The garden, which is scheduled to open in June 2013, is intended to provide education and marketing advice for xeriscaping, rain gardens, permeable pavement and other strategies for stormwater management, according to the agreement.
The demonstration garden will encourage visitors to implement these techniques in their own gardens and will provide instructions for doing so.
June is the limit for construction as the grant specifies that all bills be submitted by that time.
The total cost for the project is $34,000, with $24,000 coming from the grant and a $10,000 match from the conservation district in services and materials.
Holtrop said that now that the agreement has been signed, he can commission design of the garden. This includes determining the species of plants to be included.
The garden will be constructed at Sequim’s Carrie Blake Park, 202 North Blake Ave., on land currently unoccupied, Holtrop said.
“This will teach the average citizen how to best use their water,” Holtrop said of the project.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
