Most lush lawns look that way because of regular application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides that can degrade soil quality and leach into the water system. Lawns need a lot of water to thrive and must be mowed and fertilized regularly. There are many reasons to forgo a lawn some are environmentally driven while others are a matter of financial and time constraints. Why should homeowners consider forgoing a lawn? Rosemary, lavender, ornamental grasses, succulents, tree roses and potted dwarf citrus trees provide color, fragrance and beauty year-round. They require little water and lots of sun. Mediterranean plants comprise the backbone of the garden. We also chose water-wise plants instead of a lawn and installed efficient drip irrigation. We used energy-efficient LED lighting throughout the garden including a handsome hanging pendant on the arbor. Most rebar contains a high percentage of recycled content, and rebar is completely recyclable. The arbor is made from reclaimed materials, metal rebar. What are some of the site’s other sustainable features? We planted creeping ‘Elfin’ thyme between each stone, which forms a fragrant carpet on the pathway. We mortared smaller pieces together when we ran out of large ones and ordered the rest from a landscape yard at a very affordable price. They are repurposed pieces of an old patio “curated” from a Dumpster. I also wanted to deliver a multisensory garden with year-round color, sound, fragrance and movement, along with edible plants.

The design was inspired by my client’s love of natural style, the decomposed granite hiking trails of the Santa Monica Mountains and a timeless, old-world look. This narrow side yard is part of a landscape project that includes the front and back yards, and its function as a thoroughfare between the two shaped my vision.

What inspired the small garden design for this space? Eager to bring functionality and beauty to the wasted space, the new homeowner enlisted Bovshow’s help to revamp it with sustainability and space saving in mind, transforming the underused stretch of land into a charming passageway. A discarded dishwasher took center stage amid several trash cans and storage boxes. But when she first laid eyes on this formerly barren 10-foot-wide side yard in Los Angeles, she knew she was in for a challenge. As co-host of the Discovery Home Channel’s makeover show Garden Police, Shirley Bovshow sees a lot of lackluster yards.

Living earth decomposed granite