3 with water rationing in full effect, the garden company says they can tell the difference in sales from last year--which was a perfect year for gardening it was dry and the effects of the drought were just beginning and now people are downsizing their landscaping and gardening. the garden company says its possible to keep the garden it just might be different than you imagined. 3 *trt 1:20outcue::even in a drought*25-3241-521:05-1:12 thousands of flowers and plants to choose from at the garden company, and even on the first day of rationing in santa cruz people are buying plants for their garden.bite: for many people they would rather keep their plants alive than brush their teeth.and charlie keutmann who's green thumb has decades of experience says the rationing still allows for a garden if you pick the right plants, and get rid of others.bite: lawns are water hogsso charlie encourages people to buy mulch bite: mulch over your gardens reduces evaporation by 30 percent and so it keeps it cooler and suppresses weed growth and use less water standup: the garden company is encouraging people to buy drought resistant plants like these 2 gallon water can will water 57 of these small plants and they only need to be watered once a month.and one wall in the store is dedicated to drip irrigation so people will water in a smart way.and even customers like heidi jumper who usually have big gardens every year are changing up their favorite plants.bite: we do this every year but this year we cut down we got tomato plants because they have less waterbut charlie's gift is his green thumb, so he loves helping his customers make their dream garden a reality even in a drought.3 3 if you need gardening advice for the remainder of spring and into the summer, charlie says this is a good place to start. he also holds drip irrigation workshops right here to help people learn to water smarter. live in santa cruz i'm ca yccn.