The hungry céspedes of water are symbols of Los Angeles's past. In This seriesWe highlight the patios with alternative low water landscapes built for the future.
When it is hot in Los Angeles, the hummingbirds, the butterflies and the bees go to the gardens that Lexie Glass and their husband, Evan Hursley, have been building in Harvard Park during the last three years.
“His garden is a good example of how his landscape can be a universe for wildlife,” says Katie Tilford, development director of the Theodore Payne Foundation for wild flowers and native plants, which has presented Glass and Hursley's Garden in her annual native garden tour.
For glass, gardens are not only “their space”, but an environment to share with the natural world. “He [COVID-19] Pandemia really emphasized the importance we have for the landscape around South California, “says Glass, who is originally from Arkansas,” so creating ours in our house was an exciting opportunity. “
Lexie Glass's house and Evan Hursley in 2022 before replying with the green house, starting their grass and planting a native landscape.
(Lexie Glass)
Your home and garden a year later.
(Lexie Glass)
When the couple bought the 900 square feet craftsman at the end of 2021, his front and rear grass was mainly brown and dead, and the concrete prevailed.
A creative couple, Glass is a designer and Hursley is an architect, 31 -year -olds were used to creating management plans and projects.
Then, when they learned that the grass replacement program of the Agua and Power Department of Los Angeles would pay them to turn their grass into a low water landscape with friendly plants with California, they were excited to lead a DIY project for themselves and use the refund to cover their expenses.
His backyard before removing the grass and broke the concrete path with dolls.
(Lexie Glass)
The backyard a year later. (Lexie Glass)
Shortly after the two bought the property, they began their patio project by removing the concrete strip in the form of L in the backyard with a deck. Then, they dug a road through the rear and side courts, installing the broken pieces of concrete to form “winding roads that would lead to moments of discovery,” says Glass.
After placing the bases for their roads, the couple removed a twisted fig tree and covered the grass and weeds with the leftover cardboard boxes of their movement. This process, known as padding of the leaf, implies cardboard or newspaper layers on the grass and weeds to suffocate them, creating a natural compost that enriches the soil and suppresses weed growth.
The couple taught itself how to install a water collection system, design a garden for southern California and install roads watching YouTube videos. (Lexie Glass)
Despite their initial lack of gardening, Glass and Hursley quickly realized youtube videos on how to plant a native garden in Los Angeles by filmmaker Loren Johnson, who had torn off his grass. They also attended online conferences at the Waterwise Community Center and the channels of the California Native Plants Society. Similarly, they taught themselves how to install drip irrigation, select native plants and design their garden using resources such as the Waterwise garden planner and Calscape websites.
“Evan and I spent many Saturdays in the morning, having breakfast and observing the design conferences of the native gardens during our planning phase,” says Glass.
Given the compact size of their bungalow, the couple saw their garden as more than a wildlife habitat. It was an extension of his home. In the backyard, where they planned to spend most of their time, they included a living room next to a fire well, complete with adirondack -style chairs that they built with Secaya. They also added an outdoor dining room, a bird bath and a bedroom with a bank, all located in the shadow of fragrant natives.
The rear patio is anchored around an outdoor pavilion that serves as a dining room, which was created from four existing steel columns and steel beams installed in a concrete pad. To give it a more aerodynamic appearance, they removed the corrugated sheet roof and added 2 -foot wood members through the beams, painting the wood and black of steel. Then, they attached rope lights along the lower part of the wooden members and installed tension cables from the ground to the final members in a Zigzag pattern, which allows the five morning glory plants that planted the cables and over the lattice.
The outdoor dining room today is shaded by the morning glory plants.
(Fran Tamse / for times)
Working on weekends, the couple installed the routes and padded the ground after it broke down under the weight of the leaf.
To add rocks to their design, the couple transported them on a stretcher. “That was a lot of work,” says Hursley. Then they went on to plant, obtaining mainly from Theodore Payne, plant material and native plants of Artemisia in Los Angeles.
When it came to choosing the plants, the couple was aimed at creating a dynamic garden by varying the heights and widths of the plants to achieve a visually attractive effect. Strategically they placed some of the upper plants to detect antistnetic views and create bleak moments. “You have to walk around the plants, which helps create intrigue,” says Glass. “This was a advice we learned when we saw the series of conferences made by the Society of Native Plants of California on YouTube.”
The couple created a series of outdoor rooms in the backyard, including this bedroom in the shadow of a mint tree, Agonis flexuosa.
(Fran Tamse / for times)
According to Tilford, the couple chose a palette of plants that is easy to maintain and recommended on the list of “easy native plants of Southern California in the southern Theodore Payne, which includes several varieties of sage, Apricot mallow, of the Lilac Verbena mine and sunflower of the wild flowers of California that are filled with the holes. The couple chose these plants not only for their plants not only for their plants. maintenance, but also for their leaf textures, flower colors and the moment of when plants will bloom or inactive.
In the front courtyard, where they installed a bed of dry stream that collects rainwater, the couple was inspired by care signs, the theory of the landscape architect Joan Nassauer that visible human care for a landscape can affect the change in the neighborhood.
“We add many fragrant varieties to the front courtyard to greet us already our guests home, but also for luck to cause intrigue with the neighbors while they pass,” says Glass. “We hope you will enjoy both the site and the odors of the native plants and begin to appreciate the native plants if they did not do it yet.”
Glass and Hursley planted 250 plants of a gallon, 80% of which are native to California, while the others are plants tolerant to drought from countries with similar climates. Three years later, they admit that they made mistakes along the way. “Everything became much bigger than the literature we read,” says Hursley. “Coyote Mint is taking over our Arroyo bed.” In addition, some plants did not survive.
1. California Buckwheat, Eriogonum fasciculatum. 2. Cleveland sage, Salvia clevelandii. 3. Common Yarrow, Achillea millefolium. 4. Seaside Daisy, Erigeron glaucus. 5. Narrowleaf Millkweed, Asclepias fascicularis.
Trial and error is to be expected in a garden, Tilford says. “That’s part of the experience. Allowing yourself to fail is a way of permitting yourself to learn something new. That is a valuable lesson: Everything is going to get bigger than you think, especially if it’s next to a path or sidewalk.”
After submitting Glass and Hursley plans to the LADWP’s replacement program, which currently offers a $5-per-square-foot rebate, the $5,100 they received covered all their material expenses. “All we had to supply was the labor,” Glass says.
When nearly 300 tour-goers visited the garden in the spring, they were treated to bright orange California poppies, cobalt-blue ceanothus flowers — a fan favorite, the couple says — yellow bush sunflowers and the bold pink flowers of hummingbird sage.
A concrete pathway the couple repurposed and installed themselves is lined with tall plants that offer shade.
Come summer, some plants are dormant, but the wildlife, and in some instances, flowers like De La Mina verbena continue to bloom. Although they added plants to nearly half the property, the couple likes that the garden feels much larger than it did before.
“Our theory is that our brains soak in all these new layers of visual interest and perceive multiple outdoor rooms,” Glass says.
At one point, when the front yard was covered in mulch and the plants were going in, some neighbors questioned the project, saying the grass looked better. But as the plants started coming in and colorful native plants lined the sidewalks, their neighbors were charmed. “It gives you a reason to explore the garden,” Hursley says, smiling. “We can walk around for hours.”
“We hope that everyone can see that you can do it yourself,” adds Glass. “You do not need ample space to create your oasis — just a bit of planning and an appetite for experimentation.”
Lexie Glass and Evan Hursley began the process of replacing their front and back lawns with native plants in January 2022.
Lexie Glass and Evan Hursley’s garden abloom in spring.
(Lexie Glass )
Plant list
Peppermint Tree, Agonis flexuosa
Desert Museum Palo Verde, Cercidium ‘Desert Museum’
‘Eureka’ Semi Dwarf Lemon, Citrus X Limon ‘Eureka’
Washington Navel Dwarf Orange, Citrus Sinensis, Washington
Dwarf Bartlett Pear, Pyrus Communis
Morning Glory, Calystegia purpurata
Howard McMinn Manzanita, Arctostaphylos ‘Howard McMinn’
Concha Ceanothus, Ceanothus ‘Concha’
Firecracker Penstemon, Penstemon Eatonii
Desert Spoon, Dasylirion Wheeleri ‘Desert Spoon’
California Buckwheat, Eriogonum fasciculatum
Scarlet Columbine, Aquilegia formosa
Moonshine Yarrow, Achillea ‘Moonshine’
Desert globemallow, Sphaeralcea ambigua
Coyote Mint, Monardella Villosa
Parry’s Agave, Agave Parryi
California Fuchsia, Epilobium canum
Star Jasmine, Jasminum multiflorum
Narrow Leaf Milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis
Margarita BOP Penstemon, Penstemon heterophyllus ‘Margarita BOP’
White Sage, Salvia Apiana
De La Mina Verbena, Verbena lilacina ‘De La Mina’
Bush Sunflower, Encelia californica
Common Yarrow, Achillea millefolium
Everett’s Choice California Fuchsia, Epilobium canum ‘Everett’s Choice’
Hummingbird Sage, Salvia Spathacea
California Poppy, Eschscholzia Californica
Brittlebush, Encelia farinosa
Allen Chickering Sage, Salvia ‘Allen Chickering’
Palmer’s Indian Mallow, Abutilon palmeri
Elegant Clarkia, Clarkia unguiculata
Bird’s Eyes, Gilia tricolor
Iris Pacific Coast Hybrids
Wendy Alumroot, Heuchera ‘Wendy’
Coral Bells, Heuchera
Yerba Buena, Clinopodium douglasii
Seaside Daisy, Erigeron glaucus
Catalina Currant, Ribes viburnifolium
Safari Sunset Conebush, Leucadendron ‘Safari Sunset’
San Miguel Island Buckwheat and Red Buckwheat, Eriogonum grande var. rubescens
Germander Sage, Salvia chamaedryoides
Cow’s Horn Cactus, Euphorbia grandicornis
Variegated African Candelabra, Euphorbia ammak variegata
Blue Flax, Linum lewisii
Resources
Turf Replacement Rebate Program
Planting a Native Garden in Los Angeles
Waterwise Garden Planner
Green Gardens Group Education
California Friendly and Native Landscape Training
California Native Plant Society
Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants
Plant Material
Artemisa Nursery
