Both the front and back yards are a DIY project. The garden owners started the front about eight years ago because they didn't want to maintain a lawn with its watering costs and so forth.
They purchased some of the cacti; others arrived via "less direct" routes. several varieties of good, mature cacti are now growing in the front garden and there are cacti growing in pots, ready for re-planting in back. Several of the cacti yield fruit that some people enjoy. The garden takes virtually no watering - maybe every couple of months during the dry season.
Solar panels provides 80% of their power. The system is leased from Solar City, rather than purchased. Between the DWP electrical bill and the lease, they pay approximately $59.00 per month for electricity.
They've made several other environmentally - and economically - beneficial changes as well, and will happily discuss them with interested people on the tour. They have installed a “loop” hot water line, along with a small pump that keeps the hot water circulating through the loop to the showers at the far end of the house. As a result, they save about 2 gallons of water per shower, plus much water at both bathroom faucets. They have also installed a flow valve on the showerhead in the master bedroom. It isn’t designed to shut the water off completely, but it allows them to greatly reduce the flow while shampooing and lathering. Lastly – and this is a very simple improvement – they have turned the flow valves under each of the bathroom sinks down to about 50%. That’s more than enough for hand and face washing, and it saves a good deal of water.