Stage set for spring at Siena

Sunrise Colony Co. celebrates spring on Saturday with its second annual "Springtime in Siena" street festival. The model village at Siena, a guard-gated, age-qualified community in Summerlin, will be transformed into a gardener's paradise from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Information booths will be manned by numerous gardening experts, and horticulturist Linn Mills of the Las Vegas Valley Water District will discuss the benefits of native plants.

"Native plants have evolved over thousands of years in this region," Mills said. "There are many low-water flowering plants available now that have adapted to our region's climate. They can provide a beautiful habitat for birds and butterflies -- not to mention the human beings who planted them."

Representatives of the Friends of Red Rock Canyon and the Sierra Club will be on hand, as will several local artists, including the Nevada Pastel Society, members of which will display their work. Kevin Potts, director of the Community College of Southern Nevada's student-run nursery, will offer low-water and native plants for sale, while Dennis Swartzell, director of the arboretum and xeric garden at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, will share his gardening tips.

Paul Smith, vice president and project manager, said courtyard and patio gardens are popular with residents.

"Low-water container gardens are much more environmentally friendly than grass," Smith said. "Our residents also love the virtually maintenance-free lifestyle that comes when you replace big lawns with the colorful outdoor living space of a courtyard or patio garden.

"A front courtyard provides privacy from the street and a nice transition from outdoors to indoors. Residents with courtyards often keep their windows curtain-less to bring in more daylight and to give them views of their own garden getaway. Patios often double as an outdoor dining room with spectacular views of the Spring Mountains and the valley."

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