Resident Trades Grass for ‘Wild Kingdom’

By ALEXANDRIA BORDAS | Reporter

Once her children got to a certain age and stopped playing in the backyard, Palisadian Diane Elander saw no use for her lush green lawn. Instead of paying gardeners weekly to maintain grass she never used, Elander decided to make a drastic change and introduce drought-resistant flowers and plants to her backyard.

The result one year later?

“It is by far the best thing I have done in regards to home improvements over the past 20 years of living in the Palisades,” Elander said.

Taking advantage of the California Friendly Landscape Incentive program initiated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) in 2009, Elander said she worked with Mimi’s Garden Design to come up with plans and used the rebate from LADWP to help cover expenses.

“Mimi helped me design every aspect of my backyard and helped me pick out the right plants,” Elander said. “You can do it yourself, but it is great working with someone who knows how to transition you to a drought-resistant garden because it can be tough.”

Elander is a professional food stylist and said her mature drought-resistant yard is like a mixed salad blooming with color and wildlife.

“Before, with just the plain grass, there would be no action going on out there, so boring. But now it’s like a wild kingdom, we have hummingbirds and bees and my dog loves it,” Elander said.

The LADWP requires that drought-resistant yards use drip irrigation in order to qualify for the rebate. Everything in Elander’s backyard now operates on a drip irrigation system, which allows water to slowly drip to the roots of plants through a network of tubes of piping, ultimately saving water.

Elander admits that it can take some time to see a return on your investment in a drought-resistant yard.

“It’s expensive at first, but in the long run it’s awesome because you never have to re-do it.”

She added that everyone should be playing a part in helping out during this severe water crisis.

“We’re lucky to even have yards and I know people are doing what they can right now, but we aren’t doing enough.”

The maintenance consists of pulling up weeds every so often and educating her gardener on how to maintain the drip system. The gardener now only comes by her house once or twice a month.

“It’s been great and my kids enjoy it as well because it’s spontaneous and different every day, which you just don’t get with a plain lawn,” Elander said. “I am happy to educate everyone in the Palisades on what I have learned so far.”

When speaking about water waste in the Palisades, Elander said she notices a few people who are selfish water users.

“Some people don’t realize we are all inter-connected and our water is coming from the same place,” Elander stated. “The choice between drinking water and walking on it via our lawns is a no brainer. We have to do what’s best for the environment.”