Theodore Payne Native Plant Garden Tour 2016
The Olsens’ front yard originally featured a semi-circular driveway that took up much of the yard. Today, it features a selection of California native and some nonnative, drought-tolerant plants. Oakley Gardens added California gravel in between the pavers shown here that will allow water to percolate back in to the soil.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)The Olsen family in Manhattan Beach had a lawn and circular driveway that was good for little more than taking up space -- and sucking down water. So they completely revamped them into a drought-tolerant design that is a little bit Cali and a whole lot of zen. It earned them a spot on this weekend’s Theodore Payne Native Plant Garden Tour, showcasing dozens of home gardens in and around Los Angeles.
Yarrow flowers (Achillea millefolium) are a great butterfly nectar source.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Bright blooms of apricot mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua), right, a California desert native that blooms nearly year-round, appear in colorful cultivars and frame a frog fountain in the courtyard of the Manhattan Beach, yard of Sarah and Steven Olsen.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)The aromatic, edible, medicinal white sage (Salvia apiana), which is often burned as incense.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)The iconic California poppies (Eschscholzia californica), are the official state flower of California.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)Sarah Olsen is photographed in the front yard of her Manhattan Beach home, where she has planted a wide variety of California natives, some non-natives and mostly drought-tolerant plants. The Olsens’ home is part of the Theodore Payne Native Plant Garden Tour, taking place Saturday and Sunday.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)Caterpillar shaped flowers of lacy phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia), a spring wildflower, supports numerous beneficial pollinators in the Manhattan Beach yard of Sarah and Steven Olsen.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)The delicate foliage of lacy phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia), a spring wildflower, casts shadows against a front yard boulder.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)Custom CorTen steel doors by artist James Nash greet visitors at the Manhattan Beach home of Sarah and Steven Olsen.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Wildflowers called tidy tips (Layia platyglossa), announce the coming of spring.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)The side yard is divided in to three tiers. The lowest tier is dedicated to edibles with a raised-bed kitchen garden made from broken concrete. Figs, Meyer lemons, pomegranate and fava beans are planted along the perimeter.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)A “Seal of Approval,” for conserving water and promoting wildlife has been given to the Manhattan Beach yard of Sarah and Steven Olsen.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)The foliage of a palo verde tree (Cercidium), one of many California-native and drought-tolerant plants, in the Manhattan Beach yard of Sarah and Steven Olsen.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)A raised-bed herb garden, with several succulents added, was made with concrete from the home’s original driveway.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)Two Acacia covenyi (blue bush), an Australian native, offers shade in the side yard. The clean, well-defined hardscapes are covered in a mix of “California Gold’ crushed gravel and decomposed granite that not only cuts back on water use, but keeps maintenance to a minimum.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)A detail of a blue ceanothus dramatically espaliered against the garage.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)A collection of nonnative succulents.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)A planter filled with nonnative succulents adds a pop of color to the herb garden.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)Designer Margaret Oakley Otto, left, and homeowner Sarah Olsen relax on a banquette made of broken concrete. The three-bedroom, two-bath home was moved from Miracle Mile to Manhattan Beach during the 1950s and was elevated on pylons, causing the home to feel detached from the yard.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)A pot of nonnative succulents.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)The California native succulent Dudleya palmeri.
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)