Replace Your Lawn!

Back by popular demand, we are presenting our RYL workshop series in a special four part installment 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 Saturdays in May at 10 AM.

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! – Saturday, May 8, 10:00 AM
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: Design Elements
Saturday, May 15, 10:00 AM
Once you have removed, or reduced, the size of your lawn, it’s time to plant – right? Not necessarily. Thoughtful landscape design will save you time, money, and effort. Rob Moore, principal of California Native Landscape Design, will instruct participants about the importance of a design plan and steps to get started in creating one when getting started on your own native plant revamp.

Replace Your Lawn III: Creating and Caring Your Native Garden
Saturday, May 22, 10:00 AM
Plan your landscape carefully before planting. Come learn how to choose a theme, and plan your garden for success with sound horticultural practices and an introduction to plant selection. Mike Evans will share from our booklet, “Creating and Caring for your Native Garden”, that you can download here. Learn how to create a thriving native garden. 

Replace Your Lawn IV: Plant Selection, Thirty Plants
Saturday, May 22, 10:00 AM
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