Before & After

See how 5 homeowners went from dead lawn to dynamite landscaping on a budget (and in less than 6 months!)

Dave had a big yard. 7,000 sq.ft. of grass to replace in the front alone. “It was drab. Dead grass. It was patchy, and would grow inconsistently. All I had was a push mower. So I’d be out here for 3 hours in the sun going back and forth, it was just... ugly. And if I didn't mow, it looked abandoned.” He tackled about 4,000 of it with 2 double-spaced California Wild plant packages.

Birder's Front Yard Fix - "It's unbelievable!"


How'd Dave do it? He got a turf replacement rebate from the county of San Diego and - due to the scale - was required to take 3 one-hour landscaping classes to get his $10,000 rebate (one class on design, one on irrigation and one on maintenance). “I found this program through the county and enrolled and we were just like 'well let’s try just taking [the grass] out' and put something in that doesn’t require a lot of maintenance, something attractive, that maybe looks a little more natural a part of the local landscape.” The rebate paid for the plants, professional planting and all the new irrigation (but not the mulch or landscaping fabric).
The real value is in their new wildlife sanctuary. "I'm a birder" Dave says, and "the bird activity in this garden…It’s just stunning." In a yard that's only six months old. "A big goal of ours was to attract wildlife, mostly birds and then butterflies and insects...What I really liked about California Wild's offerings is that there’s so much prethought put into what looks good together. Not only color-wise but shape and heights."

Moving further North to suburban L.A., here's some Pasadena homeowners that revamped their small frontyard into an inspiring oasis on a budget. This was Roshin & Wyatt's first front yard. After years of awesome apartments, they were excited to renovate their new home's gravel-and-weed front yard.

New Homeowner's Crush-worthy California Wildflower Transformation


By mixing in the old gravel with some fresh dirt, the install crew helped to create ideal drainage conditions for California native plants and wildflowers. Within a few weeks, the yard went from a hot gravel patio to a colorful meadow. The beautiful lawn-free entry garden update (with drip irrigation) cost less than $5,000.
When watering restrictions hit the first summer, the plants were already 4 months old. The plants did great on a restricted irrigation schedule. After 10 months the garden reached %80 fill-in. The poppies, yarrow & blue-eyed grasses continue to self-sow more each spring. Every once in awhile they add an extra sage or grass to finish the look.

Modern Mini-Orchard in hot, suburban Santa Ana

Kaitlyn had a few thousand sq.ft. of dead lawn and a somes old structures she wanted to plant her own little produce-aisle-growing orchard around. California Wild Garden's "designs make it easy," she says. Now she loves her yard. "We've gotten quit a few apples and persimmons and the nectarines are insanely good!...apriums and plums [are] so yummy right off the tree!"
This shows Kaitlyn's garden at the time of planting and then 4 years later. She added raised vegetable gardens to the center of the space and a chicken coop off to one side to complete the micro-farm. Lots of little pathways make it a fun backyard for her 2 young kids to play. Her drought-tolerant regenerative orchard will be at full production levels around 5 years.

From Patchy Grass to mind-blowing Modern Spanish

This family wanted to bring the feel of Greece into their small landscape as a nod to their family history. They wanted only silvers and lavenders with a few succulent hints and low & behold the Mediterrean Plant package prototype garden was born. The washed-out plant palette now transformes gardens all over California from defunct lawn to lived-in silver sanctuary.
The careful layering of species with similar drought-adaptations - meaning they have many of the same colors and flower and leaf shapes - creates an architectural (and biological!) wonder. Hummingbirds and butterflies love to hang out here all year round.

Gorgeous Once-a-week-water Landscape in a hot California Climate

Richard was done with the lawn and ordered a customized California Wild Gardens plan to apply for a rebate. "The front yard was just kind of a burden. An eyesore that we didn’t want to invest any time in." He and his family were ready for something different. Something colorful and low water. They did their entire install themselves. By sheet mulching the frontyard they managed to complete the whole project with about $1,500 in addition to the rebate.
dreamy blend of california native wildflowers in glendale front yard turf replacement rebate

The Los Angeles turf replacement rebate covered the cost of the plants, the design fee and a good amount of the materials. "I enjoyed taking part in the planting," says Richard, "If we could've hired someone for the sheet mulching part that would've been ideal, we got like 10 yards of mulch," it was A LOT of work. But now they get to enjoy seeing something new blooming everyday. And get a lot of comments from the neighbors. They do little maintenance and water deeply once a week (with an inground soaker hose line).

Affordable Lawn Replacement with California Native Plants


California Wild Gardens is on a mission to help make more affordable (and awesome!) lawn replacing landscapes for California. Our selection of large preplanned plant packages helps get greenery where you need it most - in the ground. Whether you're looking for an easy way to update your garden in a drought-prone area or for a full landscaping overhaul, we've got fresh looks that can work for you.

Shop These Looks

Get yard-transforming gardens delivered in whole packages. Delivery in as little as 4-5 business days!
Blossom 365 Hummingbird Garden | Curated Plant SetBlossom 365 Hummingbird Garden | Curated Plant Set

Blossom 365 Hummingbird Garden | Curated Plant Set

From $949.99
From $949.99
Mediterranean Magic - California Wild Gardens - Plant PackMediterranean Magic | 30+ Plants w/ Layout Plan | Low-Water Front Yard

Mediterranean Magic | 30+ Plants w/ Layout Plan | Low-Water Front Yard

From $449.99
From $449.99
Superbloom Selfie - California Wild - Plant PackSuperbloom Selfie | Southern California Native | Plant Package & Design Plan

Superbloom Selfie | Southern California Native | Plant Package & Design Plan

From $995.00
From $995.00
Royal Californian | California Native | 30+ Plants & Basic Layout PlanRoyal Californian | California Native | 30+ Plants & Basic Layout Plan

Royal Californian | California Native | 30+ Plants & Basic Layout Plan

From $899.99
From $899.99
Wild Grass | California Meadow | 40+ Plants w/ Layout PlanWild Grass | California Meadow | 40+ Plants w/ Layout Plan

Wild Grass | California Meadow | 40+ Plants w/ Layout Plan

From $950.00
From $950.00
Mixed White Pink +1
Mediterranean Magic | Low-Water Backyard Landscaping | 30+ Plants & Standard Layout PlanMediterranean Magic | Low-Water Backyard Landscaping | 30+ Plants & Standard Layout Plan

Mediterranean Magic | Low-Water Backyard Landscaping | 30+ Plants & Standard Layout Plan

From $899.99
From $899.99
Old School Orchard | California Farmhouse Garden | 20+ Pollinator Plants & Fruit TreesOld School Orchard | California Farmhouse Garden | 20+ Pollinator Plants & Fruit Trees

Old School Orchard | California Farmhouse Garden | 20+ Pollinator Plants & Fruit Trees

From $875.00
From $875.00
Custom Large Planters - Pottery Order

Custom Large Planters - Pottery Order

$295.00
$295.00
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LEARN MORE ABOUT...

Schedule your delivery at checkout. We do our best to provide a 3-4 business day turn around but some exceptions apply (due to daily fluctuations in grower availability). Weekday delivery only.

You must be home to receive delivery. Or have a professional onsite to receive the order. You or your installer is expected to assist with moving plant material to a safe location (off the truck's loading dock and/or curb side). Trucks are large, if your site has access issues caused by a narrow driveway, lack of turn around or unusual steepness, a drop point may be utilized.

DELIVERY ETA'S: 2-hour delivery windows are provided the afternoon before wherever possible. Plant drops typically occur within the hours of 6:30 AM -2:30 PM

Once you've decided on your plant pack or lawn it's time to plan your install. We do not offer install services at this time.

Decide whether to DIY or hire a crew. Plants ideally go in the ground within 48 hours of arrival (for DIY'ers plants can safely be stored up to 2 weeks in spring and fall if placed in part-shade, watered regularly and temps are reasonable).

AVERAGE PLANTING TIMES

Small (30-50 1g) Solo: 5-10 hours / With Help: 2-3 hours
Medium (45-75 1g-5g) Solo: 2-3 days / With Help: 5-6 hours
Large (65-115 1g-15g) Solo: 2-3 weekends / With Help: 2-3 days
Xlarge (100+) Solo: 3-4 weekends / With Help: 3-5 days

A professional gardener team or install crew will make quick work of even a large order. If you're working solo, try enlisting family or friends to get it done in a weekend with the lure of a juicy barbecue or catered get-together after.

Our packages are designed for full rapid coverage. For larger applications and turf rebate projects plant spacings can easily be doubled. As long as ground is adequately mulched. Large packages include a central patio or access walkway in the design.

SMALL: Covers 150 sq.ft. / 30- 50 Total Plants (25-35 x 4" - 1 gallon plants / 3-5 x 5 gallon plants). Grows to 3-5' high.

MEDIUM: Covers 300 sq.ft. / 40-75 Total Plants (30-60 x 4" to 1 gallons / 6-15 x 5 gallons). Grows to 5-7' high.

LARGE : Covers 500-700 sq.ft. / 60-120 Total Plants (50-100 x 4" to 1 gallons / 7-15 x 5 gallons / 3-8 x 15 gallons). Grows to 5-25' high.

Why so much variation? Every package is a little different. Some mostly feature plants that grow 1-3 feet in size and others have lots of shrubs that grow 5-10 feet. i.e. Superbloom Selfie has the most total plants (primarily grasses and small flowers). Natural Lilac has the least (many large shrubs that grow best when started small). Substitutions: 1-3 species in many designs (especially native ones) may be automatically substituted due to the HUGE daily fluctuations of local grower availability. You get to approve any swaps. Or let us know if you'd rather have more of something else. You can also substitute up to 2 species by request free of charge.

Grass & shrub centric gardens fill-in around %85 in as little as 1 year (even 6 months if planted in earliest spring). Shade gardens or those with more trees and spreading natives take 2-3 years to reach maturity. Some natives are slower to set root but take off FAST after apparently doing nothing the 1st year. New trees can often take 3-5 years to take on their desired architecture (contact us to special order large specimens)