Her Water Bill Was ‘insane.’ So She Tore Out Her Lawn And Planted A 'wabi-sabi' Wonderland

Water-hungry lawns are symbols of Los Angeles’ past. In this series, we spotlight yards pinch alternative, low-water landscaping built for nan future.

Julia Lee had nary request for a caller plot erstwhile she and her hubby purchased their Cheviot Hills location 8 years ago. The accepted 1950 location came pinch mature tropical plants successful nan backmost and a sprawling writer hillside section successful front, and it suited them conscionable fine. But arsenic drought and wildfires dragged connected successful California successful caller years, she started to mobility whether keeping nan thirsty section made sense.

“Our h2o measure was insane,” she says arsenic she offers a circuit of nan erstwhile lawn, which is now filled pinch colorful autochthonal plants and drought-tolerant plants. “It was a discarded of space. Our kids were getting older and didn’t play connected nan lawn. There was conscionable nary logic to support a large greenish lawn.”

After reference a Times communicative astir Georg Kochi, a retiree who swapped his Koreatown section pinch plants suited for California, Lee was inspired by Kochi’s wild, wabi-sabi-style garden, which embraces nan creation of imperfect beauty.

“I’m into chaos,” Lee says, bending down to smell nan minty fragrance of a autochthonal Woolly bluecurls (Trichostema lanatum) shrub. “It’s an meticulous reflection of my personality.”

Lee’s section successful Cheviot Hills earlier she sheet-mulched it pinch cardboard.

(Julie Lee)

Lee’s plot today.

So successful 2022, Lee decided to switch her section pinch a drought-tolerant landscape, utilizing nan LADWP Free Landscape Design Program, now called nan Landscape Efficiency Assistance Program, for help. She besides applied for nan Metropolitan Water District’s turf replacement rebate, which was $3 per quadrate ft astatine nan clip (now $5), and sewage $5,310 backmost erstwhile nan plot was finished.

She wanted to study much astir autochthonal plants, truthful she took a plot creation people astatine nan Theodore Payne Foundation for Native Plants in Sun Valley. But nan people felt overwhelming. “I emotion Theodore Payne,” she says, “but I dislike measurements and trying to fig retired hardscape. I’m not a mathematics person. The coach wanted america to usage a compass and tie a standard drafting of nan full lawn, and I thought, ‘I can’t do this.’”

Feeling paralyzed, she thought astir hiring personification to thief her, moreover though she didn’t want to walk nan money connected a scenery designer. But erstwhile Lee shared her frustrations pinch her postgraduate schoolhouse adviser, noted writer and avid gardener Jamaica Kincaid, she sewage nan encouragement she needed. “She told maine to do it myself,” Lee says, “as she designed her ain gardens herself, and they are idiosyncratic conscionable for illustration she is.”

With encouragement from Kincaid, Lee, 49, began by planting mini sages that would turn quickly and thief forestall erosion, since water, mulch and rainfall often ran down nan hillside to nan sidewalk. She besides dispersed Theodore Payne’s Rainbow Mix wildflower seeds passim nan landscape, including California poppies, Arroyo lupine, Desert Bluebells and Clarkia. In nan spring, nan gait was afloat of colorful wildflowers, but for nan remainder of nan year, it stayed dormant. “People loved it because it was for illustration a wildflower meadow successful nan mediate of nan city,” she says.

Walking done Lee’s garden, arsenic birds, bees and butterflies zoom astir nan yard’s agleam flowers, it’s evident she loves color. With thief from her friend Ben Liou, who replaced his section pinch autochthonal plants, Lee filled nan abstraction pinch a lively operation of sages and flowering perennials, including yellowish Bladderpod, pinkish Palmer’s Penstemon, bluish California lilac and poppies. Also, successful nan mix, location are California poppies, Channel Islands Tree poppies and gangly Matilija poppies that look for illustration fried eggs.

An endangered Western monarch caterpillar nibbles connected immoderate California autochthonal milkweed.

A “Think Global, Plant Local” motion rests adjacent to a handwritten works recognition tag.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

She was amazed to find that moving successful her plot helped her link pinch her neighbors successful unexpected ways.

“I was worried nan neighbors would complain,” she says. “But I’ve met truthful galore group because I’m retired present each day. Other gardeners are funny and often inquire me, ‘What’s that absorbing yellowish plant? Oh, Palmer’s Indian Mallow?’ I moreover cognize each nan dogs’ names now.”

When she and her gardener sheet-mulched nan beforehand gait with cardboard Amazon boxes she had collected from her neighbors successful October, 1 neighbour joked that it looked fresh for Halloween. “She told maine it looks for illustration a graveyard,” Lee says, laughing.

An aerial position of Lee’s garden.

Not each nan plants survived, partially because half nan plot is shaded by a ample magnolia character connected nan parking strip. Lee estimates she mislaid astir 70% of her plants successful nan first twelvemonth because she didn’t h2o enough. “The very first twelvemonth you’re expected to h2o regularly, and I did not hand-water enough, truthful everything fundamentally died. The h2o measure went down dramatically, though.”

Three years later, aft losing truthful galore plants, she decided to adhd an irrigation system. Liou and her gardener helped Lee instal it and build a bioswale to drawback rainwater, utilizing stones from Valley Builders Supply and immoderate larger rocks from Bourget Bros. “We installed it successful 1 day,” she says. “It was my day coming to myself.”

Lee installed nan bioswale successful conscionable 1 time pinch thief from a friend and her gardener.

At first, she was tense astir adding thing truthful different from nan different accepted lawns connected her street. “There weren’t immoderate different houses that had thing for illustration that,” she says. “But now I for illustration it because it breaks up nan beforehand section into abstracted planting sections.” She tin besides locomotion down nan bioswale to activity successful nan garden. “I find plot attraction truthful relaxing,” she adds. “It’s meditative.”

Lee says plants thief her link pinch people. One neighbour who knew nan home’s erstwhile proprietor gave her succulents. Another brought her immoderate aromatic California sagebrush, besides called Cowboy Cologne. “I really for illustration nan truth that I tin constituent to definite things and retrieve who gave them to me,” she says. “That’s really nice.”

She hopes nan aureate yarrow will spread, and she’s particularly proud of nan ample achromatic sage she grew from seeds that a friend gave her. “It’s truthful happy complete there,” she says, intelligibly excited by its growth. “Look astatine really large it is. I americium truthful proud of it.”

Venice beekeeper Ian Kimbrey from Cheep Cheep Homes put up a bluebird container made from recycled materials connected Lee’s magnolia tree. There haven’t been immoderate bluebirds yet, but Lee is excited to spot hatchlings successful nan future.

Not each nan plants successful nan unamended ungraded are California natives aliases moreover drought-tolerant. Lee kept immoderate plants that person been increasing successful nan gait for decades, for illustration nan jasmine climbing astir nan beforehand of nan location arsenic good arsenic nan achromatic roses. “I really don’t for illustration lantana,” she says, “but I dislike sidesplitting things.”

Someday she hopes to group up a free seed library, and she’s excited to spot bluebird hatchlings successful nan bluebird location that Venice beekeeper Ian Kimbrey installed successful her tree. “I conscionable request to beryllium patient,” Lee says astir nan bluebird box, which is still empty. “I’ve entered that shape of my life wherever I conscionable emotion to spot truthful galore birds and bees and different animals successful my garden. It’s bully for my intelligence health.” She besides wants to adhd a h2o characteristic where birds and butterflies tin bathe and sip, and she plans to works much berries to pull much pollinators.

Lee, who grew up successful L.A. and teaches English astatine Loyola Marymount University, says her unkempt plot reminds her of Los Angeles successful immoderate ways. “Everybody conscionable wants to look young and cleanable each nan time, and that’s not healthy,” she says. “My plot is beautiful successful nan spring; past it goes dormant successful nan summer. And that’s OK.”

She hopes her communicative will promote others who who can’t spend a scenery designer aliases simply consciousness overwhelmed by nan thought of replacing their lawn. “I deliberation sometimes it’s adjuvant conscionable having personification who’s location to clasp your hand,” she says of her friend Liou. “For me, that was critical. I don’t deliberation I would person ever made immoderate advancement without him.”

The task was yet astir much than conscionable redeeming water. It gave Lee a chance to link pinch her organization while experimenting successful what she calls a “test garden.” She calls her plot a activity successful progress, and though she has suffered failures on nan way, she values nan friendships she has made extracurricular her beforehand door. “My plot doesn’t look designed because it isn’t. I’ve learned it’s OK if things aren’t perfect.”

Actually, she says, an imperfect,-always-evolving plot is “a bully instruction for life.”

Lee looks for bees wrong nan Matilija poppies successful her garden.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

Plants utilized successful this garden

California autochthonal shrubs/flowers

Coulter’s Matilija poppy (Romneya coulteri)
Pigeon Point Coyote Brush (Baccharis pilularis “Pigeon Point”)
Twin Peaks No. 2 Dwarf Coyote Bush (Baccharis pilularis “Twin Peaks No. 2”)
Lilac Verbena “De La Mina” (Verbena lilacina “De La Mina”)
Armstrong California Fuchsia (Epilobium canum “Armstrong”)
Marin Pink California Fuchsia (Epilobium canum “Marin Pink”)
“Bert’s Bluff’ California Fuchsia (Epilobium canum)
Catalina California Fuchsia (Epilobium “Catalina”)
Hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea)
California Sagebrush (Artemesia Californica)
California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum)
Red Buckwheat (Eriogonum grande var. rubescens)
“Warriner Lytle” Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum “Warriner Lytle”)
Ashyleaf Buckwheat (Eriogonum cinereum)

Lee grew nan achromatic sage from seed.

Sea Cliff Buckwheat (Eriogonum parvifolium)
Ceanothus “Julia Phelps”
Yankee Point Carmel Ceanothus (Ceanothus thyrsiflorus var. griseus “Yankee Point”)
Coyote Mint (Monardella villosa)
Woolly Blue Curls (Trichostema lanatum)
Golden Currant (Ribes aureum var. gracillimum)
Bush Monkeyflower (Diplacus longiflorus)
Jelly Bean Red (and Pink, and Orange, and Fiesta Marigold) Monkeyflower (Diplacus “Jelly Bean Red,” etc.)
Canyon Prince Giant Rye (Elymus condensatus “Canyon Prince”)
Island Alumroot (Heuchera maxima)
Santa Ana Cardinal Alumroot (Heuchera “Santa Ana Cardinal”)
California bee works (Scrophularia californica)
California Huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum)
Common Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus var. laevigatus)
Fragrant Pitcher Sage (Lepechinia fragrans)
“Whirly Blue” Cleveland sage (salvia clevelandii “Whirly Blue”)
“Celestial Blue” Cleveland sage (salvia clevelandii “Celestial Blue”)
Winnifred Gilman Cleveland sage (salvia clevelandii “Winnifred Gilman”)
Allen Chickering Cleveland sage (salvia clevelandii “Allen Chickering”)
“Bee’s Bliss” sage (Salvia “Bee’s Bliss”)
“Mrs. Beard” creeping sage (Salvia sonomensis “Mrs. Beard”)
Russian sage (Salvia yangii)
Santa Barbara Mexican Bush sage (Salvia leucantha “Santa Barbara”)
Deer writer (Muhlenbergia rigens)
California bush sunflower (Encelia californica)
Margarita BOP penstemon (Penstemon heterophyllus “Margarita BOP”)
Palmer’s Indian Mallow (Abutilon palmeri)
Island Mallow (Malva assurgentiflora)
White sage (salvia apiana)
Black sage (saliva mellifera)
Butterfly bush (Buddleja)
California Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Oregano (Origanum vulgare)
French lavender (Lavandula dentata)
Bush Anemone (Carpenteria californica)
Channel Islands character poppy (Dendromecon hartfordii)
Manzanita
Blue Grama (Bouteloua gracilis)
Showy Island snapdragon (Gambelia speciosa)
Bladderpod (Cleomella arborea)

Wildflowers (Native and non-native)

California poppies (Eschscholzia californica)
Blue Globe gilia (gilia capitata)
Elegant Clarkia (Clarkia unguiculata)
“Farewell to Spring” Clarkia (Clarkia amoena)
Cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus)
Theodore Payne’s Rainbow Mix wildflower seeds
“Indian Summer” Black Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta, “Indian Summer”)
Cosmos (cosmos bipinnatus)
Various breadseed poppies (papiva somniferum)