Close to 600 homeowners have replaced grass with drought-tolerant landscapes in the three years or so since the Long Beach Water Department began its lawn-to-garden turf replacement program.
In just more than a week, May 19, 30 of those landscapes will be featured in the first lawn-to-garden tour. The citywide event is actually more of an open house than a tour — the homeowners and other experts will be available at their homes and at the Water Department administrative headquarters from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. that Saturday to talk about the transformations. People will be able to visit any or all of the yards on their own with a map provided after they register.
“I think this is a real unique opportunity,” said Matt Lyons, director of planning and conservation at the Water Department. “You can discover how to get rid of a grass lawn and design a garden. There are a million combinations.”
Long Beach’s Water Department began aggressively promoting drought-resistant landscaping and native gardens in 2008, during the height of the most recent drought. Other municipalities soon picked up on the water-saving technique, and now the Metropolitan Water Department subsidizes the city’s rebate program to help people take out lawns.
A conscious decision to focus on landscaping comes from the reality that 60% to 70% of home water use takes place outside. Water for the lawn comes from the same source — and costs just as much — as the water used inside for drinking and bathing. So saving water outside means more water available for inside uses, as well as saving money.
That savings may be the reason why the May 19 tour is generating a big buzz, said Joyce Barkley, the water conservation technician in charge of planning the event. With virtually no publicity, the tour already has more than 1,750 registrations, and participation now is expected to top more than 2,500.
“A few days before, we’ll send everyone who has registered maps to those homes on the tour, the places where the homeowners and experts will be,” Barkley said. “They can talk about the process. There also will be plant lists available.”
For the last two years, the Water Department has offered a $2.50 per square foot rebate for removing grass, up to 1,000 square feet. That would be a 100-foot wide by 10-foot deep swath of grass, so it covers most front lawns.
“Experience has shown that, if you’re willing to do most of the work yourself, you can pretty much come out even,” Lyons said. “Then there are those who do a larger area, and use this essentially for seed money.
“We’ve worked hard to make the process simple. You can apply (for the rebate) online, and it usually only takes a day to say whether you’re eligible. Then you design it, and once we make sure it’s drought-tolerant, you can apply for the rebate.”
Offering information is the goal of the lawn-to-garden tour. In addition to home owners telling of their own experiences, landscape architect Barbara Paul, who has designed many of the yards already done through the Water Department Program, will be on hand at the department’s administration building, at 1800 E. Wardlow Road. There are drought-tolerant demonstration gardens at the administration building, as well.
Registration for the tour can be done at the department’s website dedicated to the lawn-to-garden program, www.lblawntogarden.com. Day-of registration is available at the administration building.
Lyons said that the city has up to $500,000 for lawn-to-garden rebates in the next fiscal year. Applications for that program, as well as information, are at the same website.
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