yard feels
Gardening Made Good
What makes a wild garden good?
Wild Gardens create butterfly habitat, repair soil and support the native environment. They reduce fossil fuel waste, conserve water, improve air quality & even localize food production. How? Through a diverse blend of low-water & wildlife supporting species and awesome design. A wild garden comes to life all on its own. Once it's nurtured through it's first 1-3 years, wild gardens create their own little resilient ecologies; that offer wild beauty all along the way. The large number of species and carefully planned blooming cycles means there's more year-round interest too.
POLLINATE
%50-80 more Pollinator Habitat than conventional landscaping. Diverse gardens offer a more robust nectary calendar for birds, butterflies, beneficial insects & other valuable wildlife.
CLIMATE COOL
Diverse gardens make surfaces up to 70•F degrees Cooler in Heat Waves thanks to the shade of plants & trees (UCR Natural Resources Division). Surfaces like your driveway, your patio, your home's walls and your dirt.
PLANT LOCAL
Our plants are delivered direct from Local California Growers. We only distribute non-invasive species* (excepting a few highly desirable edible ones). And work hard to keep our plant sourcing ethical.
Serious Water Savings
%50-90 Water Savings over Conventional Lawn
Low-water perennial plants offer huge water savings over conventional landscaping. The trick is to improve soil drainage enough for them. Low-water adapted plants like some lava rock or gravel at the bottom of their hole or to be planted on slopes.
Our Company
California Wild was built to bridge the landscaping industry. And give you a shortcut to great water-saving plant combo’s. Self-install is recommended for experienced gardeners only. So hire help if you’re new to digging holes.
Our plants and lawns come directly from local growers to your driveway. From wholesale nurseries previously only contractors and architects had access to. Which means a bigger selection of specialty plants at competitive prices. Save water, save fossil fuel, save pollinator habitat and more! Right in your own backyard.
We believe plants can heal the planet. And that grassroots ecosystem rebuilding is the main thing that will! We are always asking how to make California more sustainable. And now, more than ever, that starts with landscaping.
Briana Lyon
Our Founder
Swale Expert, Plant Palette Powerhouse, California Native, Canadian Farmer & Chic Ecofreak
"I love creating new styles of drought-tolerant landscaping and prioritizing plants that are adapted to a broad range of climate extremes."
Briana's created lush low-water landscapes all over L.A. and the SF Bay Area for 10 years. As the former leader and chief designer of Califia Ecodesigns she's honed her own unique style of contemporary Permaculture landscape design. An East L.A. native whose also obsessed with timeless beauty (her first career was as a fine art authenticator) she spends half her time with her daughter Matilija on her food forest in rural Canada & the other have exploring and replanting the secret wildflower stashes of urban & suburban California.
Watch the video below to see what inspired her to create California Wild...
Favorite Facts About Lawn Alternatives
Are you as shocked as we are by watching lawns die in such record numbers this summer in California? Water conservation has adopted some extreme tactics as of late. So if you're thinking about replacing the grass here's a few good things to know.- Groundcover Lawns like California native succulent Phylla nodiflora are common lawn replacements in other parts of the world like Japan but are just becoming fashionable here in California
- Native Lawns are awesome. Just be aware they have seasonal dormancy cycles. Most get brown patches in the peak of summer while Buffalo Grass (Bouteloua gracilis) gets patchy in winter. California lawn grass breeders are working hard to create new fully green low-water options but it'll be a few years
- Artifical Turf exacerbates climate heating and creates huge amounts of non-recyclable plastic - think 20 water bottles per sq.ft. - so don't use it on a large scale. And it's on it's way to being outlawed in many parts of the world due to the toxicity level of the microplastics it generates. Keep turf areas as small as physically possible when needed.
- Part Shade helps your lawn areas seriously reduce their water needs and enhance greenery. Plant open canopied shade trees at the edges of lawns or utilize existing shade in your yard wherever possible.
groundcover & native lawn
Lawn Replacements
Plugs, sod and flats for keeping the lawn AND greening the drought. Soccer friendly or curb appeal, we've got options: