The Greener Yards project pairs free publicly-funded landscape design plans with strategic guides and California Wild Garden's online plant fulfillment services. These statewide-friendly planting plans are designed to compliment popular architectural styles and utilize a blend of Mediterranean-climate and California native plants. The 1st collection of its kind! Created in partnership with the picturesque foothill City of Sierra Madre.
This project was developed and executed from 2022-2024 and envisions the sustainable future of California's residential landscapes. It centered around creating gorgeous "Pinterest-worthy" visuals to help home-owners feel confident taking the plunge replacing their lawns with only low-water plants. Greener Yards was envisioned by the public works department of Sierra Madre. And championed by Mayor Pro Tem Edward Garcia and City Council member Gene Goss who says:
"This is fantastic. These are real landscape designs. You've got everything here!... you're going to save a pile just on the design itself. I'm thinking for myself actually - have you had a custom designer come out lately and tell you how much plans like cost??"
- Gene Goss, City of Sierra Madre
These six-page guides each include a different water-saving or rainwater harvesting sustainability feature. Detailed instructions for these features - from grey water to rainwater harvesting - are included on 5 of each guide. The Guides also include California plant care tips, essential maintenance guidelines, soil amendment and drainage improvement suggestions. Each guide includes 2 plan versions. One that features a small native lawn and one that is entirely lawn free.
A Note on Fire Safety
These plants were created before the 2025 L.A. wild fires. Many guidelines for the spacing of plants adjacent to structures for fire safety have change. When in doubt, plant 5' away from your home's foundation at all times and push trees at a distance where leaf litter and detritus won't accumulate on or near your roof.
Free PDF Plans for No-Lawn Front Yard Landscaping
Click on the Links below.
Contemporary Style
A clean sweep of fall-blooming grass fronts this Mediterranean and California native blend. Foliage color variations in blue, green and gold set off the subtle accents or large succulents or sages. While lemon and olive trees provide shade and elegance.
Fall-Blooming Ornamental Grasses
Gorgeous ornamental grasses give a smooth green look in spring and a show-stopping splash of graceful inflorescences in fall. Their dramatic cycle is a welcome mark of the seasons in a climate where autumn color is late to arrive. When native hairgrass (Deschampsia caes.) isnʼt available substitute for Bouteloua gracilis or Carex pansa. Avoid invasive grasses Mexican Hairgrass (Nassella ten.) and Feather grass (Pennisetum).
There are 2 versions of this free California Contemporary Landscaping plan. Choose a more minimalist look with ʻ White Cloudʼ muhly grass and succulents (Pages 1 & 4). Or go electric with ʻ Pink Mistʼ of ‘Flamingo’ Muhlenbergia, Mexican bush sage and Acacia ʻCousin Ittʼ. All grasses go dormant or get cutback heavily in winter. Add low-growing ground covers or bulbs underneath where more winter interest is desired.
Click Link Below to Download:
Contemporary Design Plan
 |
California Contemporary Style Downsized Lawn Landscape Design Plan |
|
60 x 25' yard |
Contemporary Style No-Lawn Landscape Design Plan |
This garden features a Swale that doubles as a walkway. The swale is an irrigation trench that distributes water deep into the landscape at the top of a small slope, hydrating as many of the plants as possible below. Swales are the BEST rainwater collection feature out there. A swale is a 1-2ʼ deep flat-bottomed trench thatʼs backfilled with woodchips or gravel to filter & collect 1,000s of gallons of surface runoff in a storm surge. The soil dug out is mounded on the sides (especially the down slope one) and planted with deep rooting plants. Swales function as a path when not actively in use.
Nouveau Ranch Style
Southern California No-Lawn Landscaping
A big swath of Californiaʼs most ubiquitous native grass offers classic farm feels a the new landscaping era. Pretty flowering trees, tight drought-tolerant hedging, autumn sage & thornless prickly pear round out this bird-friendly beauty (without a hint of desert). This perfect pairing of silver and gold shines in fall when Deer grasses gold bloom is backed by Westringia ʻ grey boxʼ hedge. Big Yellow bells (Tecoma) & winter-berried Toyon give seasonal interest year-round while cute and vibrant water-saving baby sage replaces traditional rose-lined walkways at entrances.
Click Link Below to Download:
Nouveau Ranch Design Plan
 |
California Contemporary Style Downsized Lawn Landscape Design Plan |
|
90 x 30' corner lot yard |
California Contemporary Style Downsized Lawn Landscape Design Plan |
Free California Ranch Style No-Lawn Landscape Design Plan (click here).
Big Yellow bells (Tecoma) & winter-berried Toyon give seasonal interest Year round to this front yard design plan. While cute and vibrant water-saving Baby Sage replaces traditional rose-lined walkways at entrances and sidewalk. Salvia microphylla's or Salvia greggii's are beautiful long-blooming little sage plants that often need replacing every 3-5 years.
Feature Plants: Australian Rosemary, Deer Grass & Baby Sage
Fast-growing Deer Grass shows off its stuff in this fall-fresh design. Part shade-tolerant & low-water, Deer Grass needs a winter trim or heavy rake out to reset for spring. Indigenous peoples once heartily propagated this grass across the state for basket weaving. For shade yards, substitute Prickly Pear with Blue Agave and Baby sage with Salvia Spatheca.
California Craftsman Style
Half-native half-magic, this front yard design plan features a range of colorful deep hued shrubs is a perfect drought-tolerant evolution of a classic California style. Purple, variegated & olive leafed plants contrast against golden & red flowers. Delivering a marvelous mix of color all year long.
Feature Plants: Mounding Shrubs & Billowing Small Trees
A charming compliment for stately architecture, the jewel-tones of purple smokebush and native ornamental grasses intensify in fall. With bright yellow blooms contrasting against blue and grey foliage sporadically all year. California Fuschia & Monkey flowers show off all spring.
Click Link Below to Download:
California Craftsman Design Plan
 |
Order Plants |
|
60 x 30' yard |
NATURALIZED GARDEN An elegant wild. Occassionally prune rangier shrubs like Mexican marigold, white sage and smokebush to get a clean look. Dwarf olives are easily shaped into ball forms with pruning in earliest spring. Add in taller stalked flowers like desert penstemon or leonitis for increased hummingbird attraction.
Silver Mediterranean Style
A big blue mix of flowering drought-tolerant sages from around the world fills outs this front yard design plan. Lavender, succulents and Santolina pair with California natives like purple sage, mexican bush sage & ʻClaremontʼ currant. A rain garden off to one side collects roof run-off and infiltrates it back into the landscape.
Feature Plants: Native Sages & Fragrant Herbs
The silver leaved adaptations of Mediterranean climate plants are brought together in a beautiful blossoming palette of purple & gold with pink accents brightening shade areas. When showy plants get cutback hard in winter, bushy specimens maintain their quieter glamour and get a chance to shine.
Click Link Below to Download:
Silver Mediterranean Design Plan
 |
|
|
75 x 25' yard |
This plan features a rain garden built in at the bottom of rain gutter downspouts. Rain gardens can be connected to a dry stream bed or simply an outlet pipe attached to the bottom of your rain gutter downspout. They filter pollutants out of runoff water through their rich surface soil. Large rocks slow the flow and prevent erosion. They are made up of a drainage basin (3-10” deep of sharp gravel at bottom) with a planting bed on top. They help rainwater soak into your gardens AND recharge natural underground aquifers.
Spanish Style
A colorful ensemble of fatty leaves saddles up to the sharp angles and variegated foliage of big cacti & acacias. The smaller creeping succulents create color at your feet in this adaptable front yard design plan. A heat friendly fruit tree (Pomegranate or Fig) adds juiciness to the ensemble.
Big bold symmetries of cactus and colorful succulents create unbeatable water savings. Their soft colors and unique angular forms contrast with a broad patio or silver ground cover lawn. For more water-savings, add a large shade tree & swap sun-hungry yuccas and Dasilirionʼs for agaves.
Feature Plants: Succulents, Cactus & Silver Hedge Plants
|
54 x 30' Yard |
Order Plants / Order Silver Groundcover |
 |
This garden features a special drainage mound planting style that helps succulents thrive (beds mounted where there's orange dotted outlines on plan). And adds privacy and enhances rain absorption in the garden space. |
The center entry courtyard of this simple geometric landscape design plan can either be left as lightly shaded gravel or planted to silver carpet groundcover or dwarf carpet of stars (Ruschia nana). Silver ground covers like these mostly come from South Africa, with spreading habits and low water needs that can hold up to light-moderate foot traffic. The newer ground cover Dwarf Carpet of Stars (Ruschia nana)offers thorough coverage with an undulating look. Silver carpet Dymondia is nearly flat with occasional yellow blooms. Yearly additions of half sand/half compost improve itʼs coverage & lifespan.
To create the special raised mound garden beds Build the main garden beds atop a pile of rocks (brick or broken concrete work too). Add a very thick layer of top soil and finish with gravel mulch.
Free California Spanish Style No-Lawn Landscape Design Plan (click here).
Get Plants Delivered
Get all of the plants in the design package you like delivered to your home in as little as 3 business days. We offer adaptation plans for small scale projects (300-500 sq.ft.). And sell full-size whole yard packages with an accent only option for those who don't need trees and hedging. Install not included.
FREE SHIPPING - California-wide - Click here to Order Plants Online
Sierra Madre Resident Vouchers
Are you a resident of Sierra Madre? The City will be offering $200 vouchers for purchasing plants featured in these designs sometime in 2024. These vouchers can be redeemed in-person only at Crown Valley Nursery. You have to register for their AMI portal to qualify. Contact the City of Sierra Madre to find out more.
