Ready to replace your lawn?
This resource list will guide you to everything that you need!
Lawn Transformation Resource List
1.
Mayor
Garcetti’s Save the Drop LA campaign
2.
Los Angeles
Beautification Team – Lawn removal conversion program – will upgrade your lawn to a
beautiful, sustainable garden. Working with the LADWP turf removal rebate, you
can do it yourself, do it with help or have it done for you.
3.
TreePeople - By using their complete assortment of workshops, videos
and downloadable "how-to" guides, you'll learn what you can do
yourself or what to ask for when hiring a landscape designer.
o
Landscape – fun workshops to reduce your turf and how to get the landscape of your
dreams.
o
Trees – download this quick guide and watch our videos on how to plant and care for them.
o
Water – guides to install and maintain a
rain barrel and informative workshops on
rainwater harvesting.
4.
G3 Green Gardens Group - Their
purpose is to transform our environment by showing people how to use
landscapes to save the soil, sequester carbon, secure the water
supply, restore the watersheds, and employ a knowledgeable and motivated
workforce.
o
G3 Residential & garden steward programs –
classes and workshops.
o
G3 criteria for certification
and List of G3 Certified Landscape Professionals
(scroll down to view LA County landscape designers)
5. Surfrider Ocean Friendly Gardens – Offers classes, workshops and
on line material to revive our watersheds and oceans by applying CPR –
conservation, permeability and retention – to our landscapes and hardscapes.
o
A step by step guide to creating an ocean friendly garden.
6.
LADWP California Friendly® Landscape Incentive
Program – Details on the
Landscape Incentive and Turf Replacement Program, which involves replacing turf
grass with California Friendly plants, mulch, and permeable pathways. Take virtual tours of the
California friendly gardens, browse climate appropriate plants and access
planting and irrigation templates for their microclimate.
7.
LA Stormwater Master Plan - Through the Stormwater Capture Master Plan identifies
opportunities to increase stormwater capture in Los Angeles as part of its
effort to increase the local water supply and reduce the dependence on
expensive imported water for the City of Los Angeles. The Master Plan will also
recommends stormwater capture projects, programs, policies, incentives, and
ordinances throughout the entire City of Los Angeles.
8.
Plant
resource information –
o
LA County Native Plant Guide – Downloadable list of over 500
native and drought tolerant plants.
o
Drought Tolerant Garden – LA County downloadable
handbook
o
Theodore Payne Foundation - native plant nursery
9.
Planting to
support pollinator habitats –
o
Los Angeles
County Beekeepers – gardening for bees.
o
Los Angeles
Audubon Society - planting to support native birds
10. Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase – virtual tour of almost 300
sustainable gardens for design inspiration.
11. Association of Professional
Landscape Designers – California Chapter – their Landscape Designer Directory can be sorted to select drought tolerant
landscape design and also filtered by region. Note that inclusion does not
confirm special training in sustainable gardens – make sure you review examples
of their work and ask for certification or training they have gotten in climate
appropriate landscape designs.
Turf Terminators offers a very user friendly model working with the LADWP turf
removal rebate and does provide water savings. Note that their landscape
designs do not provide any stormwater capture features and some designs do not
support pollinator habitats. We feel these are critical omissions that could
still be provided with the amount rebated under the program.
Artificial turf is essentially
hardscape. While it reduces water usage, it does not support the environment. Here is an excellent position paper on why we do not recommend
artificial turf.
Maintenance – before you make
your design decisions, think about how much time and money you want to spend on
garden maintenance. Is gardening your hobby and you’ll enjoy spending time with
your hands in the dirt? Then a meadow like rain garden may be perfect for you! Are you
already pulled in ten directions and need something that requires minimal time
and attention? Maybe you will want a native ground cover with fewer
plants. Ask your
landscape designer or workshop teacher to be very specific about the hours per
month that will be needed for maintenance. If you plan on getting maintenance
assistance, ask for a referral and an hourly rate. Your current maintenance
provider for a lawn may not have the knowledge or skills to help you with a
climate appropriate garden!
