Oct. 8, 2026 - Laguna Beach, California
Laguna Beach Garden Club - Members Only
Growing California Native Lawns & Meadows
Did you know more than 4 million acres of California is lawn? That's %5 of the state's ecosystem! When you garden with native grasses you're supporting native habitats with plant's that build California's overall ecosystems .
Meadow gardens and native sod need less water and care overall than traditional lawn. But they require improved soil drainage and careful establishment in their first few years to root successfully and reach natural resilience. Learn about the 5 easiest lawn styles Briana Lyon is an award-winning Landscape Designer, Artist, former Permaculture Teacher and Founder of California Wild Gardens; an innovative California-focused preplanned garden and native lawn store.
Oct. 17, 2026 - Chino Hills, California
Pocket Forest Garden Talk & Planting Day
Chino Hills Wetlands Park & Preserve (Location Pin), October 17 - 9 AM to 1 PM - Free Lunch
Come plant a Regenerative California native forest with us at the Chino Hills Wetlands Park and Preserve (run by the IEUA) *where the 73 meets the 91*. This landscape rejuvenation project is being installed as a new feature component at a beautiful free recreational space on a multi-acre property already popular for pictures and relaxation.
The pocket forest we will build is a special Permaculture inspired one, designed by 5th World Regenerative Properties and geared towards dry re-forestation with native species to Los Angeles and the Inland Empire. Will start off the day with a quick 1-hour workshop and then all pitch in to plant 200-300 tiny trees on a carefully prepared space and enjoy the fruits of our labor with a catered meal and some new found community.
Pocket Forests are densely planted blocks of native plant material that regrow forest habitat up to10x faster than conventional restoration. The method was created by Akira Miyawaki in the 1960s and has also been called, Miyawaki gardening (check-out the Miyawaki Method for details).
Pocket forests use a few core principles to stimulate rapid habitat growth. What makes them different?
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Careful & methodical soil preparation
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Planting densities 3-9x thicker than conventional gardening
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Carefully selected native species
This installation will be done with all locally, regionally appropriate California native drought-tolerant plants. The kind that are easy to find at a nursery near you. After our introductory talk about the basics of regenerative landscaping, the plants we'll be working with & the Pocket Forest method, we'll all grab a shovel and learn hands-on how to make one. Then come back year after year to enjoy the eye-popping free recreational park spot you just created. Get your hands in on trialing the pocket forest gardening method in Southern California!