This DIY garden is a masterpiece of fun and function. It is a certified wildlife habitat filled with natives, edible features, climate appropriate plants and lots of love!
Their children are the inspiration. 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 combine that with the bigger gift of giving them a world where water is valued. It seemed like a no-brainer. The rain water harvesting systems and solar panels, provide many opportunities to educate and share environmental lessons with their children.
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, 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 rain water harvesting with barrels and berms and swales. The garden can capture a 30 year rain storm and harvests over 250 gallons for re-use. 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, find out about rain water harvesting and get info on solar panels. And TreePeople will be on hand to answer questions about their Community Sustainability Workshops!
