If California’s drought finally has you ready to replace your water-thirsty lawn with a drought-resistant native garden, get your inspirations by taking the 6th Annual Theodore Payne Native Plant Garden Tour. Native gardens can reduce your water bill, attract hummingbirds and butterflies, and eliminate the need for pesticides. And this self-guided tour of native plant gardens throughout the Los Angeles area will show you 45 different home gardens that are eco-friendly, cost-effective, and beautiful too.

When: Sat. April 4 and Sun., April 5, 10 am – 4 pm both days.
Where: Plan out your own itinerary!
Cost: $20 per 2-day ticket — which gets you the guidebook — available online or by calling 818.768.1802.

The $20 ticket gets you a detailed guidebook (mailed to you, or sent via PDF closer to date) with the address of every garden — plus key elements of the garden that may be important to attendees, such as clay soil, slope, butterfly garden, and other details.

Most of these gardens were designed, created, and maintained by the homeowners themselves — who, along with tour volunteers, will be on hand to talk about their gardens. Some gardens will even show before and after examples of water use!

Gardens are located everywhere from Redondo Beach to Beverly Hills to Echo Park to Sun Valley. Because the tour’s self-guided, you can decide which gardens to visit in what order.

Can’t wait? get a preview of the houses by taking a virtual tour on the Theodore Payne website. My favorite is this “Casa Apocalyptica” (right), whose owners decided to make the debris found on the site a part of their native garden.

And whether or not you buy a ticket, you’re invited to a FREE lecture in conjunction with the garden tour. Author and native plant expert Carol Bornstein will talk about “Indulging Our Senses in the Native Garden” on Sat., April 4, at 6:30 pm at Barnsdall Gallery Theatre, 4800 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. First come, first seated!

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