Gardens Make a Difference
The scale of environmental destruction today is staggering. The world's lost over 1/3 of its forests. California's lost 99% of its monarch butterflies. The oceans.... well, let's not go there.
The truth is, there are simple solutions to the massive challenges created by climate change and habitat destruction. They tend to be slow and small. They are sasy to miss. "Many of them literally involve planting flowers," says ecologist R. McMackin in a recent Ted Talk.
We can Rebuild the Earth.
We can salvage, repair and refresh our environments! Simply by planting beneficial plants. In our own backyards and frontyards, on stoops and on patios too.
Plants far outpace humans in their environmental repair tech. Whether it's solar capture, carbon sequestration, water filtration or even top soil regeneration - heck, they're pretty darn good at filtering pollutants out of air too - plants got green energy going on. So, let's grow some.
We Can Do it Beautifully.
The environment we grow should be beautiful and powerfully functional. It should look enticing, be easy to take care of and repair the habitat. It should draw you into its midst, make you breathe deep and sigh ahhhhh. A good little patch of healthy planet.
What Does a Wild Garden Do?
Wild gardens protect soils, assist in rainwater infiltration and create habitat. As they grow they need less and less care from us. Wild gardens don't have to be chaotic or come with the ambiance of an abandoned parking lot. They can be beautiful, blended and balanced. Read: What is Wild Gardening
How a Wild Garden Functions
Revives Natural Beauty & Increases Pollinator-Friendly Plants
It's time we re-envision regional ecological identities. Invite butterflies and beneficial wildlife back to your neighborhood with a good mix of native and pollinator-supporting plants. Have some that bloom every month or offer shelter in winter or drought.
Increases Local Food Production
There's plenty of plants that are worth extra water and care. Particularly when they feed us. Physically or even spiritually. Fruit trees, cut-flowers and medicinal herbs are as important for our gardens as water-saving ones.
Why make the effort with edibles? Whether its a sprig of rosemary or a bushel of apples every single ounce of plant material we pick, eat or harvest from a home garden saves hundreds of gallons of water and fossil fuel waste. Yes, we can supplement the industrial food chain. Yes, we can do it without it being a pain in the butt. Yes, you will have to slow down and spend a few extra minutes in the garden. And you'll love it. If even 10% of us grow even 10% of our own food that's enough to shift the tide on climate change.
How to Blend a Garden with the Local Environment
Use mostly California Native + Mediterranean Climate Native Plants
Climate-appropriate plants require as little maintenance and water from their caretakers as possible ...once mature (we all need a little extra help in the early years). Native and Mediterranean climate-region plants mimic similar adaptations to one another. So they blend better with the plants already growing in the wild.
Plant in Densities & Diversities that Reflect Nature
Drought-tolerant gardens don't have to look dry. In fact, planting with thicker coverage increases soil moisture content and cools surrounding micro-climates without wasting water (bare soil is dead soil). Check out this UCR study on how native grass areas effectively use less water than concrete, artificial turf or asphalt.
Our Company Values
Helping Home-Owners
Homeowners face BIG challenges when it comes to California home landscaping. The gardens and lawns that served the last 50-100 years are no longer compatible - or even desirable - with the climate fluctuations, resource availability and styles of today.
Helping Habitats
Supporting small wildlife, like native birds, bees & the myriad of beneficial insects supports wild habitats. Landscapes can be designed to help curb - and even reverse - the devastating effects of habitat loss and climate uncertainty.
Doing it with Timeless Beauty
Creating something that will last means doing it with timeless beauty in mind. Wild gardens are not meant to be a trend. They are meant to spread indefinitely and inspire profound devotion. So we try to create looks that will age as handsomely as you do.
California Wild Gardens is here to envision a sustainable BEAUTIFUL future for residential landscapes. We take inspiration from Piet Oudolf's wild gardening movement, indigenous Regenerative Agriculture practices and the technical systems design ethics of Permaculture. What are these things? Read more.
Our Company
Woman-Owned & Operated
We want you to have a shortcut to plant combinations that contribute to the improvement of our environment. So we built one.
California Wild Gardens is a small innovative designer-founded business. Built to accelerate the drought-tolerant landscape design and plant procurement process for a vast range of individuals and agencies.
Founded for Families
Briana Lyon founded California Wild Gardens in 2020 to help foster and rebuild California's incredible ecological beauty. In the garden's of everyday home-owners just like you! So that children - like her daughters Ruby & Matilija - can enjoy the region's spectacular environment for generations to come.
Briana is an East L.A. native with a long and varied history in fine art & design, casual organic farming and backcountry ecology surveying in both Canada & the United States. She's an award-winning drought-tolerant landscape designer whose run design firms in both Silicon Valley and Los Angeles. Plus, she's an expert in fire-smart landscaping thanks to working with Canadian forest fire-fighters. Read her story.
Awards & Accolades
Here's some street cred.
