By: California Wild Gardens Founder, Briana Lyon

It all started when I moved to Canada. I was born and raised in a blissful backyard suburb of East L.A.. As a kid, I hiked up brushy mustard hillsides with cactus patches and wild walnuts and played in willow-lined creeks. In the summers I would explore the magic of the forest in the nearby mountains with girl scouts. And then, in college, I ended up completing my degree in the midst of an epic rainforest in one of the most health-conscious and environmentally aware cities in the world: Vancouver, Canada.  

Every few months I would go home to L.A.: freeway, warehouse and palm tree covered L.A. Don't get me wrong, I've always loved palm trees, but I could feel deep down that the living environment in Los Angeles had been sacrificed to the built one. In a way that was yet to be reconciled. It felt like nature there was a little broken. Or at the very least, that it could be made stronger, healthier and more enjoyable for everyone.  

And so, I started designing landscapes. Drought-tolerant, eco-conscious, California native, edible gardens - you name the 'hippie' adjective I incorporated it - in front yards, backyards and parking strips. In Orange County, Altadena and Pismo Beach. But gradually, I was coming to find that custom design was slow, costly and so dispersed that it was not making the kind of impact I wanted to have on the greater environment (or greater gardening culture) of the region.  

Plus, a lot of my hipper clients really wanted to be creating their landscapes themselves. Call it the 'DIY movement' or just mindful awareness but I found people were eager for ways to participate more in the process but didn't quite have enough time to make up the knowledge gap. What goes together and where it should go: shade or sun? Water or none? Australian grevillea or Japanese maple? How do I make a California wildflower patch look good all year? I'm still working on that last one. 

So, with the help of my team, I've created California Wild Gardens. a company that aims to revolutionize the landscapes of California by shortcutting and eradicating the dated design conventions that have dominated our living environment. Like the idea that landscaping is an accessory to building instead of its own living, breathing creature. Like the estate design maxim of lawns, hedges and roses inherited from the hyper-wasteful 18th century gardening trends of French and British royalty.

Our yards should not be eating cake! They should be growing it for us and for the birds and the bees too! Without expensive water bills or the constant whir of lawn mowers. We still want to keep all the gardeners in business (if not add more) but let's put our skilled, plant-loving workers on pruning, compost and mulching instead of burning precious fossil fuels to sheer plants and move around dust and leaves.  

Don't get me wrong - I like lawns and roses too - in certain settings and in moderation but there is a BETTER way to landscape for the bulk of us and it will create a better California for us all. So let's get our landscapes out of the 18th century. Join us, not just in rebuilding the wild, but in improving it for humans and wildlife alike. The rare, endangered and idyllic California Mediterranean climate is an enviable godsend that should not be wasted.

How do we better it? With affordable diverse plant communities (we sell them as large preplanned gardens) that anyone in California can buy and install - or have their gardener install - themselves. And with lower water and native lawn options that help to replenish the ecosphere. The goal is to create yards that are: 

• Local climate adapted 

• Native Habitat & Wildlife Friendly

• Food producing where possible (eat the local-ist!)

• Feature plants that improve air quality and soil fertility

• Are lower-maintenance and lower water than conventional lawn. 

So, that - and another story I'll share another time involving a brush with some treasured Malibu habitats and a helicopter - is the story of how California Wild Gardens began. However you garden, make sure to feature regionally appropriate plants. And mimic natural plant communities in your patterns of how you create them (3-5 species blended together is much better than just a row of 1!). I look forward to helping re-envision regional ecological identities alongside you. They start at home with great, beautiful wild gardens and yards.

Thanks for gardening wild!

Briana Lyon, Artist, Horticulturist & Award-Winning Landscape Designer

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