Beach, workman’s and forest bathing gardens are back by popular demand
February 7, 2017, FormLA Staff: The 2017 Theodore Payne Foundation Native Garden Tour will feature four gardens designed, built and sustained by FormLA Landscaping. Three are returning favorites: The Weiss farmhouse garden in Santa Monica, the contemporary Carlson Garden in Playa del Rey, and the forest-bathing Joyce Garden in Granada Hills.
Native garden tour-goers last enjoyed the Weiss workman’s garden in 2013. Since that time, the beautifully restored Weiss workman’s cottage and garden have been featured on multiple Santa Monica Conservancy Tours. While embedded in central Santa Monica, this preserved farm property attracts birds, butterflies and fauna with abundant native blooms. Raised veggie and fruit gardens as well as fruit trees line a trail through the property. Two IdealMow lawns bring lush greenery consistent with the home’s architecture and offer a visual reprieve from more commercial and densely-developed properties in the area.
Two additional gardens featured last year also return to the tour. While similar in architectural style, the difference in their locations inspired incredibly distinctive landscape styles. A wildlife sanctuary surrounds the mid-century ranch home in Playa del Rey. Its beachy simplicity stems from its modern lines and sand and surf-colored patios, and its coastal plant palette thrives in Playa del Rey’s cool salt air. In contrast, the back garden of a ranch home in Granada Hills offers a forest bathing experience with a trail that meanders through native meadow and a deep border of trees. Its valley-ready plant palette includes many chaparral natives that adore high, dry heat.
We hope you’ll join us! In the meantime, enjoy past Native Garden Tours with KTLA, or in our Santa Monica, Brentwood, Eagle Rock and Glendale galleries.