3782 Redwood Avenue

This homeowner is a garden designer and also a founding member of G3. G3 teaches landscape sustainability classes for homeowners and workshops for landscape professionals. 

The turf in the backyard was removed 10 years ago and the front yard turf 4 years ago. This will be the fourth season for the veggie garden in the front yard but the first year for the veggie garden in the back yard. Yes they have now removed most of those useless ornamental plants (saying “they were pretty, but you can’t eat them”). They have also used some interesting materials for raised beds, some very inexpensive tricks that even apartment dwellers may be able to duplicate. If that isn’t enough, they have added some edibles in the front parkway too. Basically don’t stop too long in the garden or they might plant something in your shoes.

There is practically an orchard of espalier fruit trees (a tree or shrub that is trained to grow in a flat plane against a wall): Fig-5 varieties, Apples-5 varieties, Citrus-4 varieties, native and edible Grape & Pomegranate. Artichokes block the front entrance this time of year; the postman must be very patient. You will see many pots of strawberries throughout the garden - they keep them going for the kids in the neighborhood. They even use the driveway as a squash patch.

They love the Arbutus Marina Strawberry tree in the front and watch hummingbirds and butterflies daily from the kitchen window. Wild life abounds! native bees, Monarch Butterflies, hummingbirds and a flock of Bush Tits each morning in the Pittosporum Silver Sheen next to the fountain - they come to bathe until the resident Anna Hummingbird protests. On average 50 Monarch Caterpillars could be seen from mid-summer until December. Swallowtail Butterflies share the front fence for their caterpillar to chrysalis transformation.

The homeowners use drip and hand water as needed and now have 2 rain barrels. Their water consumption has been reduced by approx 70%. This household uses an average of 42 gallons per person per day (the average home uses twice that) and they expect to continue to find ways of reducing their potable water consumption.

They are very jealous of the chickens next door, but share a back gate with their neighbor so after cultivating their garden they can easily drop off grubs – delicacies to most chickens.