Area residents will have the chance to see a water-efficient garden and learn how to make one for themselves Wednesday.

Gainesville will hold an open house 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Fair Street Neighborhood Center to show off the center’s water-efficient garden and answer questions about using water efficiently in the landscape.

The Gainesville Water Conservation Specialist Scarlett Fuller said the garden at Fair Street Neighborhood Center can be used as an example of how local residents can have a beautiful landscape and use minimal water.

The city’s Public Utilities Department created the garden with a mini-grant from the Georgia Water Wise Council.

The garden has a 300 gallon cistern for rain water harvesting and plants in the garden are grouped together according to their water needs — a key ingredient to a water-efficient garden, Fuller said.

The garden can be used as a tool to show residents “how to have a nice landscape, but to use water efficiently and get the most bang for your buck,” Fuller said.

Wednesday’s event will begin at 2 p.m. at the neighborhood center. Local residents are invited to attend and tour the garden.

Conservation specialists will be on hand to answer any questions about the garden, Fuller said.

“We’d be happy to talk to them about it and answer some questions,” Fuller said.

The department also plans to give away a rain barrel at Wednesday’s event and hold future rain barrel workshops at the Fair Street center in order to incorporate the garden into the workshops.