Introduction 2 Site Plan & Plant Design 4 Site Sections parkway 6 front yard 8 page 10 side yard 10 backyard 12 Made possible by The County of Los Angeles © 2012 LA Climate Zone Map 14 Plant Lists by Zone 16 table of contents How-To Section get to know your garden 26 grade for rain 32 build healthy soil 34 page 12 plant and mulch 38 water wisely 40 tend your garden 42 This handbook was developed using funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Nursery List 44 Written and Designed by Resources & Index 46 Shopping List 48 page 32 Photos top to bottom: 1-2.Marilee Kuhlmann 3.Pamela Berstler 1 Introduction 2 Site Plan & Plant Design 4 Site Sections parkway 6 front yard 8 page 10 side yard 10 backyard 12 Made possible by The County of Los Angeles © 2012 LA Climate Zone Map 14 Plant Lists by Zone 16 table of contents How-To Section get to know your garden 26 grade for rain 32 build healthy soil 34 page 12 plant and mulch 38 water wisely 40 tend your garden 42 This handbook was developed using funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Nursery List 44 Written and Designed by Resources & Index 46 Shopping List 48 page 32 Photos top to bottom: 1-2.Marilee Kuhlmann 3.Pamela Berstler 1 Plan to work IRRIGATE WISELY. If you are installing a Use the model plant design, plant list and surface drip system, it is easiest to lay out guidelines in this handbook to select the after your plants are in the ground. If you are plants for your garden and figure out how adjusting/updating your existing system, do many you’ll need. Bring your shopping list to any trenching before you plant, and fine tune your local nursery, and ask them to order what sprinklers and emitters after planting. they don’t have in stock. Start a Garden Journal to keep track of what you are planting, MULCH. It’s the secret to garden success. where and when. Use the Get To Know Your Don’t forget this step. Garden section of this handbook to create your own site plan. TEND WITH LOVE. Water your new plants, weed the garden, and most importantly, Work the plan watch for trouble. Your drought tolerant oduction CLEAN. Remove any trash, weeds, dead garden should require less care than a lawn. plants, old furniture, etc. So, give your garden some love, but don’t overwater or reach for the fertilizer! EDIT. Decide which (if any) of your healthy plants will continue to thrive in your new Garden like a pro intr drought tolerant garden, and remove every- When professionals transform a garden, they thing else. work differently than most home gardeners. Why? They can’t afford to fail, so follow their GRADE FOR RAIN. Move your soil around lead for success. What is a drought tolerant garden? (see p. 9 & p. 32-33) to capture rainfall in your It’s a garden filled with plants that can get by on rainfall garden. After you’ve started planting, you PLANT only in the cooler, wetter season (Fall alone. When these plants are properly grouped five perfect plants don’t want to be moving soil. through Spring). LA climate-adapted plants, according to soil, water and sunlight needs, they don’t especially the natives, are much happier if you require any extra water. Sure, you say, that works in PREPARE YOUR SOIL. Remove unwanted plant them between November and March. Pennsylvania, or Florida, or Oregon where it rains all the lawn, do the soil tests (see p. 30) and follow This gets them settled and watered by the time. But this is Los Angeles County! We water here. the recommendations to build living soil (see rains before the Summer heat convinces them We don’t have to irrigate. And we might not always p. 34-37). to take a Summer siesta. be able to. Fresh water is a valuable resource and our local supply is not being replenished. We bring in most 1 2 LAY OUT YOUR PLAN. Get all your plants CHANGE one section at a time, but plan to of our water from other places, and the cost of that is together and spread them out over the garden tackle it all eventually. Home gardeners often very expensive. We currently use at least half of our before you start digging. It’s easier on you, haphazardly add a plant here and there, and drinking water to irrigate our lawns and gardens. akeuchi 4.Marilee Kuhlmann 5.Krissy Hoitt and the plants, if you work out the layout end up mixing together plants with different By making our gardens more climate appropriate, we ew T before anything is put in the ground. needs. Instead, pick one section (or more) of can have beautiful, lush gardens full of flowers, herbs, your garden that you can completely remodel. fruit, even grass and meadows, at a fraction of the 34 PLANT. Your investment will pay off (and your After your whole garden is converted, and water cost. We can enjoy our amazing climate and plants will thrive) if you follow the How-To growing, you can fill in a few plants here and 1. Salvia spathacea outdoor lifestyle, and spend less time and money Hummingbird Sage guidelines in this handbook (see p. 38). there every Winter. taking care of our gardens. It’s not difficult, but it does require some time and some work to transform your 2. Verbena lilacina ‘De La Mina’ Lilac Verbena landscape into a drought tolerant garden. need help? In the pages that follow, we’ll show you how to make 3. Vitis californica Professionals are standing by, eager to help. Garden Designers and Landscape this transformation! You will find a model plant design ‘Roger's Red’ Architects can help redesign your garden, or just coach you through the process, Grape that you can adapt to your home, plant lists to help you and Landscape Contractors can do the work. If you work with a gardener, make shop for your garden, and all the information you need 4. Heteromeles arbutifolia sure they understand what you’re doing and why. Many professional gardeners are Toyon to get started. Now dig in! new to drought-tolerant gardening, and their good intentions can quickly destroy 5. Galvezia ‘Firecracker’ your drought tolerant garden. To find contact information for professional help 5 Firecracker Island Bush (see Resources and Index p. 46). Snapdragon op photo: Marilee Kuhlmann Plants: 1-2.Marilee 3.Andr 2 T 3 Plan to work IRRIGATE WISELY. If you are installing a Use the model plant design, plant list and surface drip system, it is easiest to lay out guidelines in this handbook to select the after your plants are in the ground. If you are plants for your garden and figure out how adjusting/updating your existing system, do many you’ll need. Bring your shopping list to any trenching before you plant, and fine tune your local nursery, and ask them to order what sprinklers and emitters after planting. they don’t have in stock. Start a Garden Journal to keep track of what you are planting, MULCH. It’s the secret to garden success. where and when. Use the Get To Know Your Don’t forget this step. Garden section of this handbook to create your own site plan. TEND WITH LOVE. Water your new plants, weed the garden, and most importantly, Work the plan watch for trouble. Your drought tolerant oduction CLEAN. Remove any trash, weeds, dead garden should require less care than a lawn. plants, old furniture, etc. So, give your garden some love, but don’t overwater or reach for the fertilizer! EDIT. Decide which (if any) of your healthy plants will continue to thrive in your new Garden like a pro intr drought tolerant garden, and remove every- When professionals transform a garden, they thing else. work differently than most home gardeners. Why? They can’t afford to fail, so follow their GRADE FOR RAIN. Move your soil around lead for success. What is a drought tolerant garden? (see p. 9 & p. 32-33) to capture rainfall in your It’s a garden filled with plants that can get by on rainfall garden. After you’ve started planting, you PLANT only in the cooler, wetter season (Fall alone. When these plants are properly grouped five perfect plants don’t want to be moving soil. through Spring). LA climate-adapted plants, according to soil, water and sunlight needs, they don’t especially the natives, are much happier if you require any extra water. Sure, you say, that works in PREPARE YOUR SOIL. Remove unwanted plant them between November and March. Pennsylvania, or Florida, or Oregon where it rains all the lawn, do the soil tests (see p. 30) and follow This gets them settled and watered by the time. But this is Los Angeles County! We water here. the recommendations to build living soil (see rains before the Summer heat convinces them We don’t have to irrigate. And we might not always p. 34-37). to take a Summer siesta. be able to. Fresh water is a valuable resource and our local supply is not being replenished. We bring in most 1 2 LAY OUT YOUR PLAN. Get all your plants CHANGE one section at a time, but plan to of our water from other places, and the cost of that is together and spread them out over the garden tackle it all eventually.