ST. GEORGE, Utah — Hundreds of southern Utah residents got an up-close look at water-wise landscaping during the 2026 Parade of Gardens, held April 24–26 across 11 private residential gardens in St. George and Washington County.
The annual self-guided tour — now in its third year — broke prior attendance records by 50%, drawing 767 total tickets, including 606 paid sales and 161 complimentary tickets for sponsors and volunteers. In prior years, the event drew roughly 400 paid tickets and 500 total attendees. Behind the scenes, 103 volunteers contributed 417 hours to the event.
The tour highlighted homeowners who have embraced water-wise landscaping through the Washington County Water Conservancy District's grass replacement program, which pays residents $2 for each square foot of grass replaced with water-efficient landscaping.
Marilyn Pabon was among the participants. She transformed her entire front yard from traditional grass to a Mediterranean-style garden — a project completed in just 3 days.
Pabon said the project had long been on her wish list but felt out of reach financially until a friend told her about the program.
"We can't afford it right now. It's in my bucket list, but it's not at the top of the list. And so he asked me if I'd heard about the water conservation program, which I hadn't," Pabon said.
"This was all grass, everything," Pabon said.
The program covered half the cost of her conversion. Pabon said she now uses half the water she used to and spends far more time in her front yard than she ever did when it was grass.
"And I knew it was going to be better than the grass that I never ever stepped on or used in all the years that we've lived here. And now that we have it like this, we're out here all the time," Pabon said.
The new garden features water-efficient irrigation with individual emitters for each plant. Avoiding chemical weed control was also a priority for Pabon.
"Spraying it with poison. And what is worse, using water or poisoning the earth all the little plants and the birds and the bees and everything with the poison," Pabon said.
Other gardens featured in the parade included pollinator areas established under a state program encouraging the growth of bee and butterfly populations with minimal water use.
Karen Goodfellow, CSU Water Program Manager and Parade of Gardens Chair, said the event is about more than aesthetics.
"Each garden tells a story. This event is about more than just beautiful spaces… it's about inspiring people to create something meaningful in their own yards, no matter the size," Goodfellow said.
Conserve Southwest Utah presented the event in partnership with the Washington County Water Conservancy District and local sponsors. Organizers said hundreds of attendees left with a deeper understanding of conservation practices and the importance of protecting the Virgin River Watershed, the region's primary water source.
