FARMDALE
For years grass dominated the front garden of our client’s charming home. We were grateful our client’s desire for a lower water bill (and satisfying the requirements of LADWP’s turf rebate program — which we were skeptical of given the timeline) complemented our vision for the project — lots of California natives.
We reclaimed the garden with a playful mix of Bouteloua gracilis blonde ambition and Verbena lollipop; our very favorite salvias white sage and Salvia clevelandii; a loose layering of Abutilon palmeri and matilija poppies whose egg yolk centers play off the Abutilon’s tangerine springtime blooms; touches of California buckwheat whose tiny pink and white blooms are extra rich in nectar; manzanita for structure along the parkway; and a ton of paprika and terracotta common yarrow throughout. We’ll concede - a few drought-tolerant non-natives did make the cut, but these non-natives are hardly a concession and are found in many of our gardens — agaves for adding structure and texture; westringia for their hardiness and delicate blooms; rosemary prostrata for their scent and trailing beauty over walls; bay laurel because its height added some much needed balance at the entry; feijoa (have you tasted pineapple guava before?); and an arbutus marina for its unique red bark and sculptural beauty (it’s the tree we call a strawberry tree, but produces a delicious edible fruit not at all similar to a strawberry). Oh! And, lavender - our client’s request as a nod to the previous garden whose lavender had always attracted lots of bees. We used 3/8 yosemite gravel as the ground cover, and our client surrounded each plant with mulch to satisfy a turf rebate requirement as we scratched our heads at how that would look. As it turns out we didn’t really notice.
While quite small at first, we promised our clients in a few growing seasons the garden would look lush and wild, erasing all evidence of a lawn that served no purpose for the local ecology. Then the 2023 rains came. And, kept coming. Within six months, the yarrows and salvias had exploded and the white sage was in full bloom. The garden was all at once an explosion of new habitat, nectar, and seeds, selflessly awaiting the work of birds, butterflies, and bees. Weeds and clovers were happy and abundant too. We were all in awe — we at the flowers, our clients at the weeds, which is never a surprise in a garden that once was grass. The solution? Some good ol’ time on our hands and knees pulling weeds, a task that would be taken up by both our clients and their gardener.
Last we stopped by for a visit our client was reading the morning paper in a chair overlooking his garden, pointing out a hummingbird and remarking on how much joy his garden brings him. Our day was made.
A big thank you to the team at Roldan Brothers Landscaping for making this garden possible. Jorge, Darwin, Antonio, Fabian, Miguel, and Alexi — we are so grateful to you.
Oh - and our client did end up getting the turf rebate!
