3958 Michael Avenue

This garden  is a great example of a low maintenance, drought tolerant front yard that still feels green and lush.  The design balances usable hardscape with an existing Jacaranda tree and a variety of succulents and native or naturalized plants.  Simple off the shelf pre-cast concrete pavers and black river rock creates an access path to the side yard and functions as a decorative element in the garden.  The featured plants are a Blue Agave, used in Mexico for making tequila, and a sea of native Douglas Iris that provides a burst of spring flowers that come year after year.  Focusing more on texture and shades of green and purple then on flowers, this garden has a contemporary look that compliments the resident’s eggplant painted home.  Best of all, this garden only requires periodic weeding and a fraction of the water that a traditional front lawn requires.

Design by: Crystal Gaudio, RLA

4140 Tivoli Avenue

Both the front and backyard flourish with absolutely no irrigation! They were planted and designed by the former owner. The new owners are enjoying it and plan to make some changes, big and small, to make it our own.

Far from being a desert, the yard is always full of squirrels, blue jays(?), humming birds, and an occasional possum.  Plus they get to enjoy the fruit grown on the trees. It makes you wonder why people ever opted to plant lawns in LA. 

11430 Woodbine Avenue - Mar Vista Recreation Center

This is a great addition to Mar Vista’s efforts towards responsible gardening and water use – even our park has reduced their water use! Preview some of the landscaping and the exercise equipment in this video of the ribbon cutting on Mar Vista Patch.

During the summer of 2010, Mar Vista Recreation Center undertook a revision to the western section of the park.   To assist their reduced water use focus, the soccer field was redesigned using artificial turf.  Around the periphery, more lawn was removed and replaced with walking paths of decomposed granite and multiple plantings of California and Mediterranean plantings. The plantings are drought tolerant and irrigation is by smart sprinklers!  

Several stations for physical workouts are positioned along Palms Blvd, Barrington Ave and Woodbine Ave and are receiving great reviews from neighbors who are there from 5 AM on.   

To better serve the drought tolerant plantings, the irrigation system was reconfigured, thus reducing water use, wasteful runoff and expense.  Mulching is next on the to-do list.   With Los Angeles City budgetary and staffing restrictions, the park staff is working diligently to keep the grounds in top condition.   The community can assist by showing respect for the planted areas when they or their pets are out walking.

Stop by and take a walk.   The picnic areas await, with new trees and boulders, making for a refreshing and fun area to gather.   What a great resource we have in our community.  

12513 Indianapolis Street

This homeowner was way ahead of the green curve. The garden was created 15 years ago when most of us didn’t really understand what California Native meant. It is special to them because they created it knowing it was good for the environment - and they did it on a budget!



They really don't water except in the summer. Then they give the roses a soak once a week with a slow flow hose and keep the plants in the main yard alive with a sprinkler once a week. A kitchen timer is used to keep the watering to a minimum.

11930 Lawler Street

The gardeners removed the grass in the front yard and the homeowners took over the project, choosing plants for color, low water use, butterflies and hummingbirds…and, of course, for humans to enjoy. They used homemade compost and find the lantana, geraniums, nasturtium (which are natural in my garden), succulents, bird of paradise, statice, and agapanthus are all flourishing. This garden has a wild beauty that offers surprises and fun.


It never gets boring because the colors and plants are always changing. Also, there is a big increase in wildlife. Watering is done by hand, as needed. A patch of backyard grass is watered only when Mother Nature decides that the time is right. They hand water as needed. There is still some grass in the backyard but it rarely gets any water that doesn’t fall from the sky. And, of course, this is a no-blower zone.

In addition to the delightful flowers, this gardener will happily introduce you to the resident worms that assist with composting.

3657 Boise Avenue

The owners wanted a maintenance-free and low-water garden for the front of their home. They have accomplished this by removing the lawn and replacing it with decomposed granite and sustainable, drought tolerant plants. The cordelyne, phormiums and Agonis flexuosa (2 peppermint trees) are native to Australia. The agave is native to Mexico and the Senecio mandraliscae (bluish ground cover) is native to South Africa. The blue fescue grass is from Europe, and the purple flowering heliotrop comes from South America. All of these plants can sustain themselves in our Mediterranean climate of extreme temperatures, long periods of drought and occasional flash floods.

The garden was designed by  Ania Lejman of ALD Designs. The installation was  facilitated  by Sarah Pugh of Outside Landscape Design by interpreting a photoshop elevation illustration -  creating a site plan and planting plan from which the correct plants and number of plants could be obtained. The owner is a building contractor and oversaw the installation of the DG, and irrigation, etc. 

4136 Tivoli Avenue

This is a unique offering on the tour as they are living the Green Life that many of us aspire to.  Sustainable Works will also be a special guest presenter at their garden.  This is a great stop for tips on how to make your own home more sustainable.

Learning about the health risks of pesticides, herbicides, and genetically modified seed, these homeowners decided to grow their own organic vegetables in their backyard. They created and installed a water drip systems for the garden watering the vegetables everyday with a few drips of water.  Water is also collected from the metal roof and collected in a rain barrel, which is connected to a water drip system running underground all the way to the front of the house watering the plants a few times a week with the collected rain water.  They are also using a composting bin.  

3407 Federal Avenue

Before

What a transformation! It just takes one look at the ‘before’ picture to appreciate how exciting it can be to tear out your lawn! This is also a great example of do it yourself.

The front yard was poorly suited to the house when they bought it in 1999 – a thirsty lawn that was both interrupted and surrounded by roses, and caged by a white picket fence, framing a house design that was anything but Ozzie & Harriet.  Parking can be a problem in the area, so they determined to make a semi-circle driveway to always have access to the house.  This presented a challenge to create an attractive design that gave some measure of privacy, was durable, low maintenance and low water consumption.  The solution they arrived at was a cluster of birch trees at an island in front of the circular driveway, to provide a screen and visual appeal, surrounded primarily by grasses and flax on all sides.  They added some rosemary for a durable and fragrant side hedge, and lavender for color.  They consulted one landscape designer for initial ideas, but afterward designed the entire yard themselves.  A contractor provided the concrete work, but all planting and other hardscape was done by the owners, over time on weekends.

Sprinklers are set into the center, with drip irrigation and micro-sprinklers where possible.  The landscape maintenance is minimal, so there is little need for anyone other than a gardener occasionally for leaf cleanup.

3243 Mountain View Ave

This garden has been a loving process of playing in the dirt for many years

The homeowners ripped out the lawn and put in gravel, way before it was 'in vogue' to do so. Then they slowly added organic fruits, vegetables & self seeding spring flowers to coincide with the cyclical climate changes in Southern California's desert. It will be in full, spring bloom for the garden tour...not at all what it looks like by summer's end when there is no rain what-so-ever and it goes into complete drought tolerant mode. Everything except the fruit trees go without water for the final months of summer, before the California 'winter' rains set in.

So, this garden is very seasonal with three distinctly different looks.

• Spring- with annual flowers like a hardy variety of sweet pea, roses in full bloom and a vegetable bounty such as artichokes, green onions, strawberries, beans and potatoes for the nitrogen added to the soil.

• Summer - with all annual flowers gone, showing the succulents and blue tuft grasses covered over by spring flowers and some roses will still bloom. They pretty much let the roses hibernate and often cut them back late summer for the intense heat of late summers in California.

• Winter- when everything gets cut back and/or dug up. Horse manure and natural mulch is added for looks and goodness. Only the baby seedlings of annuals, tuft grasses and succulents can be seen with the odd rose that will sprout back and bloom early.

They have a love of rocks, rock inuksuks and that whole natural wild look, which is very evident throughout the garden. As well as being artists, the owners play with their rocks a lot, creating different textures and pathways alongside drought tolerant or cactus potted plants all mixed into the whole garden space.
This garden is their Zen and they are an active hands-on participant in it, so there is always something morphing or changing.

You can view more garden photos here and in their blog.

3141 Greenfield Avenue

These do-it-yourselfers deserve a hand! They started overhauling the front yard garden just two years ago, in the spring of 2009, as a way to reduce water consumption and create an exploratory site for their two curious young sons.  The results will inspire even the most timid amateur gardener.  

They created a stunning design and did the manual labor themselves. For six months the neighbors endured/enjoyed the sight of clear plastic covering the Bermuda lawn as the homeowners did their best to suffocate every last blade of grass. They couldn't be more thrilled with the results and love watching the garden change and grow each season. Given the flat, horizontal shape of the lawn, they started by creating a small pebble path that meanders across the space and flanked it with grasses, succulents, natives, cacti, and two trees donated by the city (a Fruitless Olive and an Australian Willow). They used old pieces of concrete from the backyard to create a small corner planter. They planted sparingly and filled in the rest with decomposed granite--all in one weekend.

The garden has become home to a host of bees in the spring when the succulents bloom and two resident hummingbirds are crazy about the giant Grevillea. Watering is super low-tech. Just a sprinkle with the hose once a week in the dry months.  Come early and take home free seedlings or succulent cuttings while supplies last.

4127 Tivoli Avenue

"Vanities & Narcissus" by Marina DeBris.
All the flowers are made entirely of washed up debris, and the bust & plinth were found on the street 

Aeroponic Towers by Waters Wheel

This will be an amazing stop for so many reasons! This is four stops in one.

The artist Marina DeBris has launched a journey to convert her lawn and for the tour it will be transformed into a gallery of her work – all of her art is made from trash that she has collected while cleaning up our beaches for the last twelve years. We have dubbed this our ‘Eco Junkyard Tour’.  Watch this wonderful preview of her work by her nephew.

She will also share the raised bed garden that she began in April 2010 with Gardens of Gratitude. She stopped watering the lawn and began to compost years before this but never had the funds to replace the lawn. The garden is watered with rainwater that is collected in a large trash can & what is saved from the shower before the it heats up. There is also a worm & a compost bin. Her inspiration was the desire to reduce water consumption and grow her own food. This would not have been possible without Gardens of Gratitude!

This garden will also play host to a special presentation by Rafael Quezada of The Waters Wheel, LLC on Aeroponic Tower Farms for the Urban Home and Garden. Raised bed gardens are excellent if a city dweller has a yard. Many do not. Rafael will show you aeroponic tower farms, developed by EPCOT, NASA and DOE that grow plants in vertical towers without soil and, therefore, are not subjected to soil-inhabiting pests. The systems produce flawless produce and can be positioned in any sunny place: driveway, terrace, rooftop, even indoors if a south-facing window is available. There is no turning of soil, no weeding, and harvesting is done standing upright. It's the only gardening system that is conveniently accessible for people in wheelchairs.

The system uses 5 to 10% of the water and nutrient needed for dirt-farming and recycles every bit of what is provided. It is a "closed-loop umbrella" meaning that by recycling, it discharges nothing into the watershed or the air, other than transpired and evaporated moisture that is pure. It is also able to be solar powered with a mini-panel.

And finally - Advanced Solar will be there as part of our American Solar Energy Society’s National Solar Tour!