Peter Lassig is renowned throughout the world for his flower gardens in meticulously manicured lawns like the ones at Temple Square.
But there's a rebel lurking inside the 61-year-old, white-haired, soft-spoken gardener.Lassig took a walk on the wild side when he turned the 3-acre grounds of the Day-Riverside Library near the banks of the Jordan River into a natural haven for flora and fauna.
"In order to create order you have to explore chaos," 61-year-old Lassig said, quoting Plato.
And to some of his critics, chaos is how they would describe the Salt Lake library branch grounds.
"I've run into skeptics," Lassig admitted. Some people have said the grounds look like a bunch of weeds. Others find it offensive to have a library grounds without flowers. But then again, there are people who are limited in their idea of what landscaping should look like, he added.
"This will never look like a putting green," Lassig said.
City officials are glad.
When the library branch was built four years ago, officials wanted a natural look that would require only a fraction of the maintenance needed for traditional lawns and gardens. The $400-a-month water bill will be reduced to half that now that the plants have matured.
Lassig spent three years to develop the $38,000 grounds.
And at 11 a.m. Monday, the grounds of the Day-Riverside Library, 1575 W. 1000 North, will be dedicated as a nature study area in a ceremony
attended by Mayor Rocky Anderson. Children from Backman and Newman elementary schools will plant more native plants while volunteers will conduct nature and birdwatching tours.
Lassig's dryland landscaping has opened the doors and turned the library into a classroom.
"It's a fabulous teaching tool," said Lassig, as swallows flew high above the grounds. "It shows that there is more than one way to see beauty."
Lassig is living proof that passion breaks through the narrow confines of job description. Fueled by his love of the land, he takes great pride in his landscaping.
Along the banks of the Jordan River, many of the trees won't need any water. Lassig chose plants best adapted to the site's natural conditions and what the Jordan River look liked 200 years ago.
The prairie grasses -- blue grama, buffalo and sheep fescue -- use half the water of other thirsty plants. Sod and wood chips surround the hummocky bushes to keep the plants from getting too thirsty.
"This is desert sod, not grass," said Lassig. "(But) dry landscapes don't have to be cactus."
Lassig's lush landscape has brought back nature.
Canada geese swim underneath the peach leaf willow and chokecherry trees. Beavers swim ashore and try to take a bite out of the golden currant. Lassig, however, has put a fence around the tree to protect it. In fact, he'd like to fence off the area near the river to provide the beaver, magpies and other wildlife with a nesting site.
And in the late summer, white, bronze and yellow blossoms will brighten the grounds. Some of the shrubs Lassig planted include prairie wildflower, Mexican primrose, net leaf hackberry and sweet sumac.
He's also planted a crab apple tree that he waters only on holidays like Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day.
There's something to be said about plants that need little water.
"Water-thrifty plants announce who they are by being light green or grey," Lassig said.
You can reach Donna M. Kemp by e-mail at donna@desnews.com