Be sure to visit the Free Designs & Ideas page, which contains before and after photos of beautiful Long Beach landscapes, and includes the design plans and names of plants.

Two other terrific sites are: LA Coastal Water Wise Gardening and BeWaterWise.com Garden Spot. In addition to photos of beautiful landscapes, both sites have extensive on-line databases of drought tolerant plants, including photos and information about the plants, such as size, color of blooms, whether they attract wildlife such as butterflies, and more.

The BeWaterWise.com Garden Spot also hosts free on-line “California Friendly Landscape and Gardening Classes”.  Go directly to the classes here.

Another resource is very close to home.  Remember the old saying “imitation is the highest form of flattery?”  Flatter your neighbors.  A sure-fire way to end up with a landscape you’ll love is to simply copy existing landscapes that you admire.  Walk around your neighborhood.  Identify what it is you like about a particular landscape, the plants, rocks, mulch, seating area, etc.  If you’re feeling bold, knock on the front door of these homes and ask about their experience, who their designer and/or contractor was, etc.  You’ll find most homeowners take pride in their landscape and love to talk about it.

Stores, nurseries and botanical gardens are other good sources of ideas.  Non-plant material, such as pavers, can greatly enhance a landscape (and most are maintenance-free!).  Take a trip to your local hardware stores where you’ll find non-plant material that is readily available or can be special ordered, and their associated prices.

For plants, you can explore local nurseries to see what’s in season.  But for the widest selection of drought-tolerant plants, go to nurseries that specialize in them.  Most of these nurseries maintain beautiful crafted websites, including Tree of Life Nursery, Las Palitas, California Native Plant Society, and Theodore Payne Foundation (google them and see for yourself!).

If you deserve a relaxing stroll through beautiful landscapes, and you know you do, take a short trip to one of our local botanical gardens to see the absolute beauty of drought-tolerant plants.  Local gardens include Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont, Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens. Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College and don’t miss the beautiful drought tolerant garden at the Long Beach Water Department (1800 E Wardlow Road, Long Beach 90807)

Finally, a landscape designer experienced in drought-tolerant landscape in Long Beach can be a terrific choice. Be sure to check out some of his or her completed projects before committing to work with them, to make sure their concept of “beautiful” is the same as yours.