For 20 years, Northern Water’s Conservation Gardens have helped bring water-wise landscaping to life. What began as an outdoor laboratory has grown into a welcoming community space where people can explore practical, beautiful ways to use water efficiently in Front Range landscapes.
Northern Water dedicated the Outdoor Laboratory for Landscape and Irrigation Education, known as OLLIE, on July 31, 2006. The 2.5-acre site demonstrated turf, soil, irrigation and planting experiments as part of Northern Water's Turf and Urban Landscape Water Management and Conservation Program, now known as the Water Efficiency Program. In 2007, OLLIE was renamed the Conservation Gardens at Northern Water, beginning a new chapter as a hands-on learning destination for water-efficient landscaping.
Since then, thousands of visitors have explored the gardens through guided tours, public events and educational signage discovering how plant choices, efficient irrigation and healthy soils can create water-wise landscapes.
