12029 Navy Street

Have you ever wanted to get rid of your gardener ?  In a nice way of course.  This homeowner got tired of paying for someone who comes once a week to mow, blow, grab a check and go.  And it seemed that anything additional they wanted cost extra.  Enough of that! The goal for incentive for the new garden was to create something beautiful that could be maintained by the owner, without machinery like a mower, blowers, etc. They received a rebate from water and power for $800 for turf removal which required that the job be finished within a specific time period.  As a conservationist, another motivation was to cut way back on water usage knowing that California imports it’s water. Using this precious resource on a lawn, which dries out in the summer, seemed ridiculously wasteful.  They wanted a new look and the one that they created included decomposed granite, rock and drought-resistant plants. 

They continue to save money, as water usage remains low. They are thrilled with the look of the new front lawn and, as an added bonus, they keep the gardening fees for themselves! 

10819 Westminster Avenue (Map 4 - B)

Who says kids need a yard? Stop by this garden for a special guest presentation by TreePeople and learn about their Community Sustainability Workshops. This DIY garden is only a year in the making. It is a certified wildlife habitat filled with edible features, climate appropriate plants and filled with love!

The inspiration was their children. People say they need grass to play on, but they spent all their time in the flower beds, so why not make the whole yard a big flower garden? And that combined with the bigger gift of giving them a world where water is valued…it seemed like a no-brainer.

They moved in to their home in 1997 and slowly transformed ugly beds into things they thought were pretty and that didn’t use much water. It was very much a self-taught thing – going with a sense of what felt right. Then in their work at TreePeople and at the G3 seminars, they learned that a really pretty garden is beautiful on the inside. Armed with only a tiny bit of knowledge, they decided to rip up their yard and received the DWP Cash for Grass incentive in February of 2010.

Thought has been put into water capture with both a barrel a berm. They water by hand…as needed. A favorite thing is the humming bird sage and the tree in their front yard. Both have stories attached to them that make them precious. The owners plant things that are pretty and require little work. They look great and require basically nothing from them. What could be better? The kids feel like they have their very own forest and think the transformation is magical!

This garden is a great opportunity to get DIY advice! There will be a lemonade stand and Tree People will also be there with information about their Sustainable Solutions programs, with step-by-step newsletters so you can do this too!

Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase Goes Solar!

Come learn about solar power on an intimate level from your Los Angeles neighbors who have already embraced solar energy!

To further Mar Vista's goal of achieving 100% clean electricity by 2018, the 2011 Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase will host the American Solar Energy Society’s National Solar Tour and showcase Mar Vista locations on the garden tour that have gone solar as well. 

Called the "the world's largest grassroots solar event," the nonprofit American Solar Energy Society (ASES)'s National Solar Tour is now in its 16th year. This event showcases innovative green buildings and homes, and presents how owners can use energy efficiency, solar energy, and other sustainable practices to reduce utility bills and help the environment. The ASES partners with many local organizations to make this event a reality, and had 160,000 attendees view 5,500 buildings in 3,200 US communities during the 2010 tour.

Meet 13 homeowners who have 'gone 'solar' and in many cases meet their solar installer as well. This is your chance to ask about how they made their choice - did they lease or buy? Happy with their installer? What did they learn that you can benefit from. And how much money are they saving - how long will the pay back be? If you are considering going solar, don't miss this great opportunity! Stop by the sign in booth for more info and meet representatives from LA Beyond Coal to learn why this is so important!


You can download the pdf of maps 1 through 4 and maps 5 & 6 - look for the sun icon to know which gardens are on the solar tour!

4127 Sunnyside Avenue (Map 6 - D)

Hard to imagine that there are those who think that a drought tolerant garden would be drab. This drought resistant garden of cacti and succulents combined with a vegetable/herb garden creates an ever changing eye catching landscape.

On a monthly basis their fish pond water is drained into the succulent plants all around the property.  The garden is watered, as needed, with the house supply.  Essentially, their garden thrives on what others let go down the drain!

This garden and landscape has evolved over the past 12 years. Using water efficiently has resulted in not only cost savings but a bounty of beautiful vegetation. Over the years they have successfully grown the following in their Organic garden:

• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Carrots
• Corn
• Lettuce
• Zucchini
• Green Onions
• Pumpkin
• Artichokes
• Yellow Squash
• Bell & Anaheim Peppers
• Sugar Snaps
• Parsley, Basil, Garlic, Cumin, Mint, Oregano, Thyme

The owner also has a hobby of using succulent clippings to design one of a kind planters which will be on display, A flyer giving an overview on the general care for growing succulents will also be available.

Maps and Some History of Mar Vista!

Photo courtesy of the Venice High Learning Garden

Mar Vista Carrot Fields 1927 - photo courtesy of Mar Vista Historical Society

While taking the tour, enjoy some insight into the history of Mar Vista! There is something wonderful about land that was once home to fields of lima beans now coming full circle to be a home to so many edible gardens.


Map 1: This oval shaped neighborhood was, until 1909, a lima bean field owned by John J. Charnock. See one of the original farmhouses for the lima bean fields. Designed by eminent landscape architect Wilber David Cook, the oval opened to the public in 1912 as Palm Place, a "suburb of refinement and distinction" where "culture predominates." Contrary to wide-spread belief, the oval was never a race track. See those gardens here. Watch for the wild flocks of birds overhead. Parrots? Parakeets? Read this article by Roseann Herman and enjoy the pictures by Stephen Boskin and then see them for yourselves and tell what you think!


Map 2: Houses E, F, and G are all in the old Ocean Park Heights neighborhood, the first subdivision in Mar Vista, recorded in 1904. House F - 3616 Ocean View - was built in 1907 and was for over thirty years the home of ballerina Rosemary Valaire. Houses A, B, and C are all on land that from 1925 to 1951 made up the fare ways, greens, and sand traps of the Westward Ho golf course. See those gardens here.


Map 3: Houses F, G, H, I, and J are all located in the 1947 Grand View Hills tract. The land encompassed by the North Venice Little League baseball fields and the Ocean View Farms was, during the 1930s, a trash dump, and, during the war years of the 40s, the site of an anti-aircraft artillery battery. House B, located at the southern end of Westdale Village, is just across the street from the former home of actor Lloyd Bridges, who lived at 11417 Kingsland from 1950 to 1959. See those gardens here.


Map 4: Houses A, B, and C are in Westside Village, a large subdivision developed by Fritz Burns in 1946-47. House D is in Westdale Village, another post-war tract house development, created by Paul W. Trousdale in 1946. House D is not far from 3249 Colby, the former home of legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, who lived there from 1949 to 1954. See those gardens here.


Map 5: House E, at 13248 Dewey, is located in Westcrest, a subdivision developed in 1952 on former Machado land. The land of Westcrest was the last commercial lima bean field to undergo subdivision in Mar Vista. The two houses on Cabrillo are part of the old Mesa Ballona tract, laid out in 1904. This area was planted with crops until the late 1940s. See those gardens here.


Map 6: Houses K, L, and M surround what was until the mid-40s a 20-acre lima bean field. In 1947 the eastern-most 5.5 acres of this field was purchased by the L. A. School District, which built Beethoven Elementary School on the site. The first classes were held on December 1, 1947. The following year the other 14.5 acres of the field were bought up and Mark Twain Middle School opened on September 12, 1949. See those gardens here.


Historical information was provided by the Mar Vista Historical Society.