This is the magic of the Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase...

Both gardens were on the tour in 2009 and they met when Loree walked the tour route after the tour. She was oogling over Julie’s front yard and was invited in. Julie dug up a volunteer milkweed, not more than 2 in. high and gave it to Loree. She left it in her driveway with hundreds of other plants, and boom!  Monarchs found it in a week or so and laid eggs on it, so she had a delightful responsibility on her hands.

She purchased some more, planted more seeds and started a habitat of 100+ milkweed plants. Julie is with the Master Gardeners - they stayed in touch and Loree ‘gave back’ by donating milkweed and other plants to the MG for their giveaways at the monthly booth at the Mar Vista Farmers Market. Twice they held  Butterfly Sundays at the booth, where Loree brought monarchs, plants, and some wonderful children to provide information and enthusiasm and encourage habitats.

They’ve become wonderful friends and  organized informal neighborhood   "plant get togethers" that have  grown to a monarch "group" of  25+ who stay in touch through e-mail and caterpillar fostering (express deliveries of caterpillars and milkweed  wherever needed!). So fun.   They estimate that through the MG booth and other word of mouth activities directly as a result of the green tour probably 50+ new habitats are forming, including Beethoven Elementary.  Meet Loree at this garden on Meier to learn about what they are doing.

Who would think that in an "urban" area you could have so much fun without getting into a car? That you could meet so many interesting people who share not only common interests but have other fascinating hobbies? That you can leave kumquats on a doorstep, or say "hello" to so many recognizable faces at the Sunday Market?

Loree shared - I’ve lived here for 22 years and truly can say that as a direct result of the green tour the last 2 years have trumped the first 20 in terms of feeling we're living in a caring neighborhood with a big heart.  The tour encourages communication and helps you realize that environmentally the other creature friends and plants with whom we share earthly space don't give a hoot about where property lines begin or end, and we as humans could use more of that mindset in our habits as well.   Many of us grew  up in small towns or at least knew that feeling of sharing day to day pleasures of life, especially those of the outdoors, with others, and to find that unveiling as the result of a single community tour is truly a testament to the organizers - it's magical really what has happened.  My husband John's famous quote is, "another tour coming through, somebody's outside staring at your goose plants" 

Please try to attend one of these DWP workshops!

Let's use our voices!

Please try to attend one of these workshops.

The LADWP is having two public workshops on the Draft 2010 LADWP Urban Water Management Plan February 3 and 9th 2011. This Plan is required by the State of California every five years. Info on this and other pertinent information is at this link.


There are five downloads on the page 1) the pdf flyer for the two upcoming Feb workshops. 2) the 258 page pdf draft of the 2010 plan under consideration 3) the pdf of presentation slides they will be using at the February workshops 4) the pdf of the Final 2005 Urban Water Mgmt. Plan and 5) the January 2010 meeting comments for the updating of the current draft 2010 Urban Water Mgmt. Plan .

Comments will be accepted until March 15th (info on the pdf flyer) The LADWP will present Final plan to LADWP Board Of Commissioners in May.

3745 Meier Street

Aka "Archie's Garden", this garden is “super-natural” in many ways; organic, non-manicured, sustainable, packed with interest, color, and a bit of whimsy. These homeowners have created a friendly, peaceful, abundant place to relax, socialize, and enjoy the wonders of nature in their own backyard, and to share a little bit of the earth’s loveliness with their neighbors. Read about the special presentation they will have on Monarch Butterflies here.

When the homeowners moved in ten years ago, they removed the grass, laid  bluestone, and started seeds/plants in the interstices. They keep an easel in the front yard for seed-sharing, info about the seasons, garden creatures and plants. Many of the flowers and bulbs now growing are gifts they have received over the years from other garden aficionados in the area.

Watering is done by drip irrigation once or twice per week during dry weather, turned off during the wet season.  They also hand water with water gathered from the shower each day (buckets catch the cold water as it’s warming up, and saved in their rainbarrel for later use.) Now that most of the plants are well-established, the need for water is greatly reduced.

This garden teems with life, especially bird life, surges in certain plants and insect populations, and (with their recent butterfly plant additions) a delightful population of caterpillars and butterflies.  Loree Bryer, monarch habitat specialist, will be on hand the day of the tour to answer questions about these lovely, endangered creatures. All forms of life are further enhanced and protected by the absence of leaf blowers.

Come prepared for a wriggly treat!  Two homemade worm compost bins will provide a gift of worms with those who bring their own containers. 

3527 Greenwood Avenue

About 5 years ago these homeowners started with a simple need for a bigger driveway. One thing led to another and eventually they created an oasis of sustainable plantings and water capture. Inspired by examples from other gardens they had toured, they decided to convert the property into works of art/secret rooms/outdoor living spaces/a slice of sustainable paradise. Here are a few of the details…you can get the full picture when you visit their home.

The flagstone walkway adjacent to the driveway allows water to seep into the soil rather than run off into the street. Decomposed granite was used in various areas of the front and back yard, which allowed the homeowner to eliminate their grass. Gullies, dug in various spots in the yard, serve as catch basins for the water to percolate back to the water table. A rain barrel was also installed in the backyard. Most of the garden is filled with new or repurposed succulents. Various groundcovers were used (sedums, dymonia) to fill in the open spaces.


There is a secret patio on the house side of a large berm, created with dirt excavated to create the driveway. It is slightly below grade to catch a little run off. A palo verde tree will eventually shade the patio and front windows. The patio is screened from the driveway with a cluster of vibrant colored (purple/orange/green) pots. Australian tea trees along the property line provide a living light privacy screen.


In addition to the succulents there are a wide variety of drought-tolerant grasses. When the flowers are in bloom there are lots of bees and butterfly to show that spring is alive in Mar Vista!

LA Stormwater will be a guest presenter at this booth with information on their water capture programs. Visitors will also be given a free reusable bag.

3622 Coolidge Avenue

In early 2009, the homeowners decided to kill their front lawn and started to plan their drought tolerant landscape. The main inspiration was the high cost of watering the grass. 

Later that spring, they went on the Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase and met Deni Friese. They were so happy with what she had done with their front yard that the following year they had her redesign the back yard.  The front yard is California natives and drought tolerant plants with crushed rock/gravel.  There is a lovely dry stream bed meandering through the garden.  A variety of curvilinear shapes soften the hardness of the rocks.  Plants include flaxes, day lilies, succulents, California natives and sea lavender.  A shade garden nestled under the neighbor’s Jacaranda tree includes a tea tree, a variegated maple and other interesting plants. 

Automated drip irrigation is used once weekly during the summer and hand watering as necessary during the winter has greatly reduced water consumption.  Like many environmentalists, they recycle some household items for garden use, such as milk jugs, plastic bottles, etc.

2801 S. Westgate Avenue

This homeowner removed the front lawn and installed a drought-tolerant garden in the spring of 2009, after hearing about the turf removal program sponsored by the Metropolitan Water District. Planning the garden with a landscape designer seemed important since this was the first house on the block to install such a garden. The homeowner chose a design that reflected a clean, orderly look with pathways for access to the front and side of the house. After attending a seminar on California-friendly gardening and nursery visits with the landscape designer, they selected a variety of plants that are water wise, with different textures, heights and interest.



The list of plants include ceanothus and Manzanita (both California natives), fescue, phormium, leucandendron. A drip irrigation system has significantly reduced water use. There is also a rain barrel installed in the backyard as an additional water source. The homeowner hopes to inspire others in the neighborhood with this classic example of a “non-lawn” front yard.


Their landscape designer, Horacio Cerutti of Sierra Landscapes, will be at the garden from 11 AM to 1 PM to answer questions.

11944 Modjeska Place

This drought-resistant garden was planted in 2009 and is now thriving.  The native plants are diverse and display a wide variety of sizes, colors and growth patterns.  They attract and provide food for migrating birds and butterflies, and save money by requiring less water, very little fertilizer, and a minimum of other maintenance chores. 

The 'green' composite deck (Trex) is made from 50% recycled and reclaimed plastic and 50% reclaimed wood, materials that would otherwise go unused in landfills.  The deck is termite-resistant, and drip irrigation in the garden reduces water consumption.  The garden is composed primarily of plants from the following families:  agave, aloe, sage, succulents, California lilacs, grasses and flax and fruit trees for year-round interest and color.

3644 Berryman Avenue

For some time they wanted to transform their front yard into an outdoor living space.  They are very friendly with their neighbors, their children and their pets and enjoy spending outdoor time where they can interact with them, rather than being isolated in their fenced back yard. Read about their love affair with Monarch Butterflies here. This garden has just been certified as a Monarch Waystation.

They knew that they wanted to remove the grass and replace it with more drought tolerant vegetation.  They also knew that they wanted a patio space where they could enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning or a glass of wine in the evening.  They wanted a garden that was aromatic and attracted birds, insects and other wildlife and wanted it to feel more like a meadow than a desert landscape. And they wanted a fountain.  

After spending hours walking Mar Vista during last year’s Green Gardens Showcase, they were inspired to finally start the project, which was completed in the Summer of 2010.   Their landscaper, Heather Trilling (Trilling Landscape and Design), also replaced the large Hollywood Juniper in front of the house with a raised bed, which adds to the space available for growing fruit, vegetables and milkweed.  They have dwarf citrus trees (Bears Lime, Meyers Lemon and Pink Lemonade) in containers as well as a Wonderful Pomegranate tree in the raised bed.   They grow seasonal vegetables and herbs year round.  They have had milkweed for several years and have dozens of monarch butterflies hatching several times a year.   Their ceanothus, a native plant which was planted on the parkway and has been slow to grow, is finally spreading and blooming!

They have so many birds, bees, butterflies and ladybugs in the garden.  During the rainy season, they don’t water the front yard garden at all.  Otherwise, they water two times a week for a limited period of time and water the raised bed and the side garden by hand as needed.

Heather Trilling will be at the garden to answer questions.

2312 Walgrove Avenue

New garden on the 2011 Tour! See all of the gardens here. The front garden of this contemporary home was completely re-designed and installed in December 2010.

Grow Native Nursery will have a guest booth at this garden.

The homeowner met the landscape designer Nancy Knapp, Weeds Garden & Interior Design, at the Mar Vista Fall Festival earlier in the year and together they envisioned a garden that incorporated plants for a natural wildlife habitat, a vegetable garden, a fence to create a sense of privacy, a water feature and many of the existing boulders.

This freshly planted garden is now a Certified Wildlife Habitat; a large part of the design process was making sure that all of the criteria for the certification were met. Just about every single plant provides seeds, berries, nectar, pollen and shelter for whatever bees, birds, butterflies and wildlife visit, as well as plenty of flowers to satisfy the homeowner. There are nooks for shelter created in the placement of boulders – which are arranged for comfortable human perching too. The multi-height re-circulating water feature also serves as a butterfly, bird, critter and dog drinking area and even as visual entertainment for the cats and dog through the front window.

Filled with California native and climate-appropriate plants, vegetables, a gravel/stone/plant infiltration area at a downspout, drip irrigation with a weather-based controller, a composting area, a step stone path made from recycled broken concrete (from the site demo), permeable surfaces such as unstabilized decomposed granite, mulch and groundcover (no lawn), LED landscape lighting and a berm to utilize some of the excess soil, this garden exemplifies sustainable outdoor living in an urban environment.

To top it off, the home also has solar panels that were installed several years ago and provide approximately 75% of the household’s electrical needs. Although the back yard is not accessible (stay tuned for Phase 2!), there are fruit trees, more veggies and a rain barrel in the rear. The landscape designer, irrigation installer, contractor and solar panel company will be present to answer questions.



12618 Indianapolis Street

This home is proof that a climate-appropriate garden does not have to be an intimidating enterprise and can be done inexpensively with great results.

It all started about eight years ago when the homeowners replaced their weedy front lawn with common, mostly Mediterranean, drought-tolerant plants, such as geraniums, rosemary, lantana, lavender and an herb garden.  The parkway now consists of low plants, including blue fescue and flowering ice plants and stepping stones. The result is a yard with color and texture that rarely needs watering and requires minimal maintenance.  They nurtured this garden slowly – planting fewer plants and allowing them to grow in at their own pace, gradually supplanting the weeds that used to be out of control.

They proudly take credit for every aspect of the garden’s creation.   No landscape designer or specialist was involved and they used plant materials that are easy to find and care for.  They even installed the drip irrigation.

One side of the front yard is dominated by a large specimen Coral Tree.  As the front yard is never irrigated, the tree has strengthened with deeper roots, and damage to the sidewalk has thus been minimized.  This is another benefit of the drought tolerant garden. The drip irrigation system in the front has not been used much in the last two to three years.  For the 2009 Garden Tour, the calculated water savings were at about 30% over 2007.  Since then, water use for their family of four has reduced further, to 36% less water than 2007, dropping to as low as 11 HCF in a two-month billing cycle.

Last May, the homeowners installed an 18-panel solar photovoltaic system using micro-inverters, which has to date produced more than 4 MW of power, supplying 100% of energy use through October, and reducing bills to well below the Tier 1 level since then.  The Sun Power black panels, installed on the lower and upper rooftops are not highly noticeable from the street, (but are visible to be featured on the tour).  Aesthetically, they are very happy with the system.

12719 Dewey Street

VIDEO TOUR OF GARDEN

This is a wonderful stop to learn about plants you will want in your life! This homeowner is an herbalist who wanted to create a sanctuary for patients - a transition, magical world. Make sure you rub your hands in the sagebrush and Grandmother sage. Enjoy a rest - they will be offering lemon verbena water, chair massages and Zhuba's lemonade stand while they share insights on their plants.

The garden has been a process over maybe 6 years. They took up the lawn twice and last year dug one foot deep throughout half of the garden to remove the Devil’s grass, then added the raised bed front garden and mulched with cardboard. They planted many natives, drought tolerant, fruit trees and veggies. They have many favorites - the queen is the elder bush, the plant of beauty and wisdom which they use to make elder liqueur from the flowers and berries. They adore the figs daily all summer and the magical giant rosemary with squash growing in it. They love to smell the labdanum and enjoy eating the kumquats and tangerines. The lemons are also useful. They adore eating the cactus fruit. Many of their plants - particularly the cactus - have been in their life for years in pots going back to their apartment porch in the 80's.

They water minimally - the few months that they do use sprinklers it's a maximum 5 minutes twice a week plus the water captured in two rain barrels. Ask to see their compost as well!

While you're visiting, ask about the classes that will be offered in May on medicinal  uses for plants that thrive here!

3139 Purdue Avenue

The homeowners wanted to replace the front and back lawns with drought tolerant landscaping for several years. From time to time, they would see examples which interested them. This led to purchasing a number of books on the subject. However, reading about landscape design and drought tolerant plants didn’t inspire them with the confidence in ripping out the lawn and getting started. They met a landscape designer at a party, whose landscape work at the friend’s home was fantastic. They told him they had wanted for years to go drought tolerant, but had a limited budget. The designer, Bill Shapiro, came over and made up plans. His work transformed typical boring and water wasting suburban lawn into very special spaces. The royal palms and Mexican sage are among their favorite plants.

3560 Frances Avenue

This garden designer was inspired by taking tours of sustainable gardens given by the city of Santa Monica starting about 13 years ago, led by Suzanne Jetts. Also by a visit to the Theodore Payne Foundation in Sunland.

The garden contains California natives and sustainables which are both drought tolerant.

They have Pride of Madera (Echium), rockrose (Cistus), Ceonothus, Tacoma Capensis, Westringa, Manzanita, Lavender, California Poppies, and coyote bush. They have recently planted succulents. The favorites are all the plants that have survived over the last 10 years!

They originally planted with no overall planting plan and the plants have gone through a lot of changes with some parts being 10 years old. Now they are trying to incorporate the survivors into the new plan. The plants that are still growing have endured very little watering in compacted soil.

They combine hand watering and manual sprinklers. They do not water in the winter unless something has been recently planted. In the summer, they water twice a week with the sprinkler and maybe one more time with hand watering in extreme heat.

12001 Navy Street

The front garden is entirely California Native and, of course drought resistant. This garden was created in 2008. It was designed by Curt Klebaum to reflect the tastes of the homeowners.

Their goals were to save water, to have a garden appropriate to our climate, to reduce waste, and the aesthetics. They chose pink flowering currant, wooly blue curls, flannel plant, seaside daisy, bush anemone and fremontia California glory among others. They love the scents of the sages. Their water bills have gone down substantially - currently $27 per two month period. It is an ongoing experiment due to the fact that California Native plants can sometimes be fussy and erratic.

They have seen a proliferation of hummingbirds, butterflies and other birds on the property since they installed the garden. It is really wonderful to see so much activity on the property!

They use a drip irrigation system. Watering is done very, very infrequently. They do not water in the spring or summer, perhaps watering a few times in the fall before the rains begin.

They do not need a gardener and do not use leaf-blowers. They are illegal in the City of Los Angeles and we should do whatever we can to stop their use.

Curt Klebaum, their landscape designer, will be there from 3 – 4pm to answer questions.

3321 Grand View Blvd - Grand View Parkway

One thousand feet of Hilltop pride. What you’ll see is what the community and City government can create - and did, in Mar Vista, in 2006.

Hilltop Neighbors, residents, volunteers, LA City Dept of Recreation and Parks, Department of Beautification, Ocean View Farms, Neighborhood Council, Little League, and others gave of their time, talent and money to take a blighted strip along Grand View Blvd and gave us all this beautiful landscape.

The city provided them with a list of plant recommendations, candidates hardy and beautiful low/medium water use plants. The Grand View Parkway team, a subcommittee of Hilltop Neighbors Association and Ocean View Farms chose the plants, installed the watering system (low watering). They raised funds and coordinated volunteer workers, mostly Hilltop residents.

The maintenance has been done by Hilltop residents and Ocean View Farms farmers.
They recently received a grant for replacement plants, which have filled in a few spaces they like to say was the result of attrition and gophers.

They’ll have labels for most of the plants and this will introduce you to a wonderful Mar Vista walk!

While you’re there, be sure to look westward at the vista of open sky over this hilltop and know that the Pacific Ocean is there. It is called Mar Vista for a reason.

P.S. If you would be willing to be an ongoing/sometime maintenance angel, e-mail HilltopNeighbors@aol.com

3375 Moore Street

This homeowner turned a very plain, suburban lawn into an enchanting sustainable garden. Using drought tolerant plantings to highlight existing, well-established shrubs, the property has a look of natural wildness, yet all elements are balanced. The designer is well-known local landscape architect Jay Griffith. This garden, re-landscaped in 2002, requires from 6 to 15 minutes of watering per week. The Liquid Amber maple trees, along with visits from birds and butterflies, create an oasis of peace and tranquility which is further enhanced by the complete absence of leaf blowers. Both front and back yards will be open during the tour.

13248 Dewey Street

This local designer did Beechwood Restaurant, Alibi Room and Rose Café – what fun to get a peek into what he designed for himself!

The landscaping was inspired 18 months ago by low water consumption, dry climate aesthetic, natural movement from off-shore breezes and traffic. Agaves were collected and donated by neighbors or harvested and reused from the site, grasses were planted along a busy street for movement and to provide a visual buffer to street.

Berms were added for the small lawn in front for capturing water so it only needs water twice a week (3 minutes for each zone) in the summer and not at all in the winter.

The plant selections are California Native and indigenous drought tolerant with working gardens and small crops in the rear and on side yards.

2039 Walgrove Avenue

This front garden is mostly succulents and the perimeter of the front is segueing into more drought tolerant plants. The back garden is mostly edibles, vegetables, herbs, bananas and some flowers.

The owner teaches teach others how to grow vegetables through the Los Angeles County Master Gardener program and will be on hand to answer questions.

Since 1991 the garden has been an ongoing process. It’s gone through many permutations from focusing on growing flowers for drying in order to make dried flower arrangements and wreaths to what it is today, a succulent garden in the front and mostly vegetables in the back.

This homeowner also can share information and their composting, worm compost and rain barrel water collection.

Plants are watered when they need it. There is no irrigation system. Some time ago the owners received a report from the DWP saying they use ½ the water of similar homes in our neighborhood.

3991 Marcasel Avenue

Read about this garden in the April 21 edition of The Argonaut

When these homeowners moved in to their South Mar Vista home in the Spring of 2008, they inherited an exquisitely designed garden courtesy of the previous owners and the landscape company Dry Design.  They also made good use of the two raised garden beds in the back yard which served as the perfect location for tomatoes and herbs. Each Spring they experiment with something new. 

Sprinklers are on timers and monitored carefully to reduce water usage. Composting and the addition of solar panels are part of their commitment to make yearly green improvements.

An abundance of hummingbirds and bees, along with a variety of fruit trees creates the feeling of being out in Nature rather than right here in the heart of Mar Vista.  Drop by and experience it yourself!

3305 Tilden Avenue

This homeowner personally tore out all of the Bermuda crab grass and replaced it with a series of gardens defined by stone paths with hand built arbors that welcome visitors. They have mixed California native, succulents and drought resistant plants with drought tolerant trees and a vegetable garden in back. There is a feeling of calm as soon as you pass through the arbors and enjoy the fragrance, the butterflies and the soft sound of wind chimes.
There is no irrigation system in front – they hand water once a week in the summer and have seen there water consumption reduced by half.

11834 Pacific Avenue

Last year this backyard garden was newly planted - treat yourself to seeing how spectacular it is now that it is established!

The garden project began with the dilemma of how to remove all the grass from a very large backyard and still make the space aesthetically pleasing and inviting while allowing their Labrador retriever to chase and play with her doggie friends without destroying delicate plantings. Working with Kiki Christensen of re:source, they created a dramatic Zen garden environment with a large expanse of gravel bordered by sturdy drought resistant, California native and Mediterranean trees and plants.

With an eye to conservation and recycling, an old concrete patio was broken up and the pieces were used to build walls and raised beds in the new garden. All grass was removed and replaced with gravel and flagstone. The gravel allows the site to catch storm water and provides for percolation and infiltration of storm water into the ground

Bougainvillea was planted for color; podocarpus and Buddha’s Belly bamboo as a screen for privacy; cordyline and flax for drama; agapantha because it was already growing prolifically on the property; lavender and rosemary for fragrance and color; purple statice and neon-red firestick for intense spot color.

11901 Pacific Avenue

This garden is featured in the newly published book The Edible Front Yard  - read about the book in Sunset Magazine's  Fresh Dirt. It was in a green design show at Otis College of Art and Design, called “Do It Now: Live Green”. It was also a finalist in Sundance Channel’s “What’s The Big Idea?” contest, has been featured on the Design Sponge blog, AND the homeowners have their own garden blog, which is also pretty famous.

The lawn was torn out and the homeowners are growing veggies/fruits and drought tolerant bee/bird-attracting perennials. There’s a huge assortment of annual vegetables, depending on the season + various berries and grapes, plus there’s a very special tree in the front garden, a Eucalyptus Deglupta (Rainbow Eucalyptus). The homeowners use a drip system, which is on a timer, but a few of the beds have sprinklers (the perennial beds).

The homeowner and a partner have started Beyond the Lawn: a design collaborative, offering services such as sustainable / edible landscape design, and plant and maintenance consultants and they’ll be available during the tour to answer questions. See them featured in this video. This house is also one of the original farmhouses for the lima bean fields!

They have leased solar panels through Solar City who will be on hand to answer questions. With the LADWP suspending their rebate program, look for lease options where you don't have to invest any money to start generating power!

Photos © 2008 Yvette Roman Photography

13320 1/2 Zanja Street

This is their second year in the garden tour and they hope to demonstrate some small scale permaculture applications.

The focus of the garden is on edibles and perennial plants, interspersed with ornamentals as bird and insect attractors. Since moving to this rented house just over two years ago, they have done most of the work of transforming the garden from an overgrown succulent garden into a very productive permaculture garden. They have photographs of the various stages – the main features in the first year were;
• creation of raised beds around a central ‘keyhole’ rain garden for catching and
keeping rain water on the site. They used rocks that were already in the garden.
• addition of guttering to the roof, with rainwater collection system, simply
comprising 2 plastic rain barrels
• a simple grey water system for collecting water from the laundry into a barrel and
then slow dispersal onto the garden
• planting small Anna apple tree and grape vine
• setting up a simple compost system and vermiculture bin
• adding compost to the parkway at the front of the house and planting artichokes
which were very productive in the first year.
• they mainly planted vegetables and harvested excess tomatoes, zucchini, peppers,
egg plant, fava beans, brassicas and peas.

In the second year they improved the water catchment system by adding a diverter on the downspout and also put in a french drain to drain water away from the house and into the rain garden. This work was supervised by a landscape architect, John Tikotsky, who will be available on the afternoon of the tour to discuss this and other features of the garden. This year they have planted fewer tomatoes! One section of the garden has been designated for the 3 sisters guild (corn, beans and squash). All this is intermixed with flowering plants because the landlord wants it to look attractive! They have photos of the development of the garden over the second year as well.

Watering is done by hand with the beds being mulched to save evaporation.
The garden attracts a lot of people who walk past and stop to talk about what’s growing, and it’s fun to advise them and encourage them to ‘have a go’!

12660 Palms Boulevard

This is a must visit if you are thinking about adding a rain barrel to your garden as they own Rainbud!

This ocean friendly, drought resistant, low maintenance garden is about 6 years old and planted with a blue, purple, gray theme and lots of succulents. It is watered with deep soaking only every 6 weeks or so. The home owner/landscape designer has also incorporated rain barrels and a pervious driveway, as well as backyard chickens and a worm box.  This is a great stop to learn more about rain barrel water collection and ocean friendly landscaping and worm composting. 

The homeowner's solar panels (2.8 kw) were installed in August of 2010 by California Solar Innovations. They will be on hand with a special model solar panel presentation and available to answer questions.

3853 Minerva Avenue

Featured in the LA Times

The inspiration was simple – the homeowners were very clear that they didn’t want a lawn. They wanted a garden that was free and open. I walk by this garden every morning and love it’s tranquility and the natural feel to it.

Mainly, their “garden” is drought resistant. They are “against” lawns in
Southern California – in fact, they think it should be outlawed as it’s such a waste of water!

They are still learning – and have a long way to go. The garden progresses slowly and they are anxious to learn more. They have planted many varieties of lavender with some color for accent. They experiment and see what works and what doesn’t. It’s been an ongoing project for at least 10 years. Without having a budget for serious landscaping work, they inch along, one or two plants at a time – and the results have been wonderful!

They get a lot of bees with the lavender and the rosemary – and love having them – even when they swarm in their studio, they don’t mind. They have a great Bee man who comes and captures them and takes them out to his place – no killing involved. They consider it really good fortune to attract so many bees. They also get hummingbirds – some may be nesting in our olive tree.

Irrigation is done just using a hose – oh for a day when they have an “irrigation” method! Generally they water twice a week.

They LOATHE leaf blowers – the exhaust and the absurdity of just blowing things around.

11402 Matteson Avenue

They decided to build a fence and a fun safe area for their son to play. What began as a 4 day fence project turned in to a 2 month front yard overhaul that they did themselves – and a transformation that the neighborhood delighted in sharing!


They removed all of the grass from the front yard, as well as the old water wasting sprinkler system. In its place they designed concrete pads as a patio space, and planted as many drought tolerant plants as possible. They have silver carpet around the concrete pads, blue fescu, and monkey paw as the main border plants. Along the fence line they’ve planted jasmine and mandavilla vines to climb up and provide fragrance, as well as nectar for the hummingbirds and bees. They have also installed a pond and have mosquito fish in it to help control the mosquito population, and it adds a nice visual feature to the yard.


Since building the pond they have noticed that raccoons like to come and play in it and drink from it at night, and the local neighborhood cats love to watch the fish swimming. They also decided to add a raised bed vegetable and herb garden to the yard to show their son how fun and beneficial it is to grow your own food. During the summer and fall they had great success with Japanese Eggplant, tomatoes, basil, cilantro, radish, carrots, squash, green beans and lettuce. The corn plants looked fabulous but didn't provide much. They are now growing kale, spinach, broccoli, yellow onion, green onion more green beans, lettuce, eggplant, cilantro and carrots.


It's been a fantastic family project and continues to evolve as the seasons change and has become an outdoor extension of their living space, as well as helped to better connect them with their neighbors. They are pleasantly surprised to see how spending so much time working on their garden has introduced and connected them to so many of their neighbors and piqued their curiosity about what they’ve done and helped to inspire them to work on their own yards in some way.

All of the plants are on a drip system that they installed themselves. The system is set to go on twice a week for 15 minutes most of the year and we shut it off during rainy periods. They love that they can adjust the system to water as much or as little as needed. As the plants continue to become more established in the soil they will require less and less water.

12613 Brooklake Street

This garden is a winsome, quirky combination of drought resistant plantings, such as aloe and sanseervierias, rock lava on the parkway, and even some good old-fashioned azaelias to delight the eye with a spot of color. The homeowner chose to recycle her existing azaelieas and is keeping her fingers crossed that they will do well with less water. She has noticed the increase in wildlife…specifically the neighborhood cats love it! This gardener also maintains a plot at the nearby Ocean View Farms community gardens.

11443 Clover Avenue

The co-creator of Inspire the Change takes the message literally – beginning with their own garden which was designed by Grace Phillips!

They were inspired by the time they spent living in Berkeley! They fell in love with plants while living there, and wanted to have a low water, low maintenance front garden in Los Angeles. They love the fact that their yard maintenance requires no noise and no CO2 making machines

They have fruit trees, some natives and less thirsty plants – some Australian. The plants surround two “gravel rooms” and attract hummingbirds and monarch butterflies. They use minimal water for irrigation in the summer and hardly any in the winter.

They are very partial to the trees they planted – one large pomegranate and three minis, a fuyu persimmon, an olive tree from the city. And the fact that there’s almost always something flowering makes them very happy. Right now, the ceanothus are in bloom.

They dug up their lawn in the fall of 2005, and planted in February of 2006. Almost everything came in four-inch pots! They figured that the neighbors would think them nuts, but many stop to complement them on their efforts.