12531 Caswell Avenue

When a visitor from the East Coast first saw the giant cactus in our front yard, she burst out laughing. It’s not something you see everyday, or maybe ever, if you’re not from around here. It’s one of the things we really enjoy about our garden — that the plants that grow well here are so
varied and interesting.

A friend told us that this plant is technically not a cactus. We still don’t know its actual name, or the names of many of the plants in our garden. When we moved to this house, we found some beautiful, but neglected, plants tucked around the perimeter of the big lawn in the backyard. We decided to move them into the front yard, where they would have more room to thrive. We supplemented them with a small box of cuttings from a friend’s drought-tolerant garden and plants we bought from Theodore Payne and other nurseries. Just about everything was small when we started the garden in 2014, then we propagated plants as they grew. Later, we added a California pepper tree and a pink trumpet tree, which was free, courtesy of the City Plants Parkway Tree Program. They even came out and planted it!

We also took advantage of a turf removal rebate program, which helped us offset the cost of hiring a landscaping company to tear out the lawn and put in plants and drip irrigation. Our water bill was reduced dramatically after we ditched the lawn and sprinklers, yet our garden is more colorful than ever. It’s our little tribute to Joshua Tree, the Huntington Library Desert Garden, and all the great drought-tolerant gardens in LA!

12511 Mitchell Avenue

Now!!!

A large vegetable garden was something we had dreamt of having for some time. We began visualizing what we wanted in our yard and garden about five years ago which was such a delightful process. Books, magazines, trips to various nurseries and attending local garden tours provided plenty of inspiration. Keeping clippings from magazines of things we liked and taking photos when someone else's garden delighted us helped solidify our ideas.

John Tikotsky and Associates was our landscape architect and R&R Landscape Services was our contractor. Both firms did incredible work. John is gem. We wanted to be urban farmers and reduce our impact on the earth at the same time. We removed all but a sliver of grass in the front and back yards, converting to a drip irrigation system, installing a smart watering system that adjusts to seasonal temperature changes and planting low to medium-low water usage plants. We minimized water loss by using mulch, which also eventually breaks down and enriches the soil. 

Two years ago our basic design was completed and we began planting seasonal vegetables, berries and herbs. This reduced our carbon footprint even more, because rather than a trip to the store to buy vegetables, we simply walked to the front yard. The next year we added blueberry bushes and fruit trees. Every year we work on a new section of the garden. This year we are planning to add low water and native plants around the perimeter of the front garden and get rain barrels. We maintain a completely organic gardening system. 

Front produce garden in progress... 

Soil is enriched with compost we make from yard clippings and kitchen scraps. We also recycle kitchen waste in our worm bin. The resulting worm castings are an incredible garden soil food. Our focus is on growing healthy soil with the faith that healthy plants will follow. Each season we learn something new from the garden and discover new varieties to try. Our garden provides us with tremendous joy and bounty!

Starting point...

3379 Stewart

GET THE INSIDE SCOOP ON A BRAND NEW GARDEN.  See how the site plan was devised, what plants were selected and how the garden owners worked with experts on every choice to make their sustainable garden dream come true.  This is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to see sustainable garden design and execution.    

Hi MVGGS visitors, we're Julia and Zach and six-year-old Roman, all of whom love gardens.  We have lived in the Mar Vista neighborhood for 10 years and bought a home here six years ago. It had a sweet English garden look when we bought it with a big green lawn and a white picket fence. A few years ago we decided to let our lawn go and stopped watering it with dreams of transforming it into a water-wise garden. Our brown lawn was dreary and we knew that it was time to do something about it. Julia began a vision board of ocean-friendly landscapes and created a Pinterest garden board.   

Site Plan 

Recently, our front yard was selected as the home makeover for UCLA’s Extension Landscape Architecture course “Building a Garden Ecology with California Natives," taught by UCLA Ecology Professor Alison Lipman, director of environmental non-profit SELVA International, and Steve Williams of Surfrider Ocean Friendly Gardens and Selva EcoGardens. Steve also works as a conservation biologist at Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains. The challenge was to transform a relatively small front yard into an ocean-friendly CA native garden which also allows space for play and relaxation.  We chose a drought-tolerant so cal native zen playscape from the concepts submitted by 25 students. The team of students removed all grass and existing plants and replaced all that with a rain garden, pollinator garden, natural playscape and gorgeous all so cal native plants.

When we couldn't find the perfect water feature Zach designed a gorgeous fountain out of a perfect boulder and made a solar fountain in an afternoon. We also added big colorful boulders around the rain garden for our son to play on. We have plans to put in a zip line and nature-inspired climbing structure for our son's play corner. So far, the yard has been attracting all kinds of birds, bees, and butterflies!  

The garden was installed last December so is only four months old. The plants are still growing their roots now so are still small above ground, but we think it is important to highlight that establishment of a native garden requires a little patience. The plants establish best from 1-gallon containers.  A popular saying about native gardens is, "The first year they sleep, the second they creep, and the third they leap!" 

Steve Williams will be with us in the garden with info about Selva EcoGardens and Surfrider Ocean Friendly Gardens! We will have free low flow shower heads and sink aerators from LADWP for folks in their service area.  

Plan provided options for water and light features

Here are some of the CA native plants you will find in our garden:

• Purple sage
• Hummingbird Sage
• Woolly Bluecurls
• CA buckwheat
• CA fuchsia
• Carmel Sur manzanita
• Yankee Point ceanothus
• Creeping red fescue
• CA wild rose
• Narrow-leaved milkweed

Selva International

Surfrider Ocean Friendly Gardens

Selva EcoGardens 

11969 Woodbine Street

Inspired by prior Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase events, we resolved that 2015 was the year in which we would remove the old lawn and transform the outdoor living space into a drought-tolerant oasis. The result has cut water usage by more than 50%, and provides interesting colors and textures throughout the year.  Maintenance time in the garden is about the same as before, but gone is the noise of the lawnmower, replaced by the appreciative humming of bees.

Master Gardener Sara Saxonberg will be with us at our garden...so be sure to stop by. And Landscape Designer Linda Levine will be visiting as well.

Resources: 

Rose in Bloom Gardens

David Kent, deck contractor

Go Pavers hardscape

Volt Lighting LED landscape lighting 

3424 Keeshen Drvie

If you think ultra modern home design can't also feature drought-tolerant, well considered and beautiful, inviting gardens, then be sure to visit this home on Keeshen Drive. It's a stunner!

This garden was designed to enhance the bold aesthetic of the modern style of the house. Homeowners called upon landscape designer Linda Rose of Rose-in-Bloom to create a sustainable garden that would prevent the "sterile" look of many modern style homes.  Plants were chosen to soften the hard edges and make the entry warm and inviting (drought-tolerant all stars dymondia, kangaroo paw, and agave, among them).  

A weeping mulberry is a touch of whimsy and something special for the homeowners' two little girls.

The mulberry and the red bark Arbutus Marina tree ("strawberry") are the only plantings that need regular watering so bubblers were installed.  While taking care of the needs of these trees, this form of irrigation does not overwhelm the neighboring drought-tolerant plantings, which are watered much less frequently with drip irrigation sprayers.