Replace your Lawn!

Back by popular demand, we are presenting our three part workshop series about the basics of converting your ecologically taxing and expensive lawn into a beautiful, carefree, sustainable habitat.  The Replace Your Lawn workshops will run on the first three Saturdays of May.

All of these workshops are FREE of charge and each session lasts about an hour and a half, (depending on questions!).  Hopefully you will be able to attend each of the sessions at least once.  No reservations are required.

Replace Your Lawn I: Kill Your Grass!
Step one – get rid of it!  This may be more involved than you would expect and the methods to get rid of a lawn are quite varied.  You must identify the type of turf you have, research methods for removal, and then select the method appropriate for the season, your grass type, your work schedule and your budget.  The future success of your new planting will depend on your successful removal of the existing turf.

Download the handout:
 Replace Your Lawn: Kill the grass!

Replace Your Lawn II: Creating and Caring – Design Elements
Now that you have removed, or at least reduced the size of your lawn, it’s time to plant – right?  Not necessarily.  A thoughtful design will save you time, money, effort and maintenance dilemmas.  Come learn how to choose a theme, recreate a natural plant community and apply sustainable design principles to your landscape.  Following a plan for your garden will help you achieve the attractive look you want for your new native garden.

Replace Your Lawn III: Plant Selection – Thirty Native Plants
After you have determined the look and feel you wish to achieve in your garden, the fun begins – plant selection!  We will present a group of plants we call our Thirty Plants.  These are the “must-haves” for any native California garden.  This selection of thirty plants represents a handsome mix of the most authentic native plants for Southern California gardens.  As we discuss the Thirty Plants, we will expand our knowledge of natives in general, and learn how to chose the right plants for any particular design theme.

Download the handout:
 Thirty Basic California Native Plants

Please see our Event Calendar for other fascinating coming Workshops including: Planning and Planting a Schoolyard Habitat Garden workshop on May 25th which will be hosted by guest speakers from Back to Natives Restoration.  Also join us for a Native Cultures: Baskets and Berries, a free lecture about the Southern California Indians uses of Native plants on May 30th.

Happy Spring!  Get ready for some summer heat!