Eden & DaneWhere We Work · Southern California
Los Angeles
Los Angeles is not one climate. A property in Santa Monica and a property in Sherman Oaks sit a few miles apart and grow materially different plant lists. Designing here starts with working out which Los Angeles the site is actually in, then building to that rather than to a generic Southern California palette.
- Hardiness zone
- USDA 9b to 10b depending on elevation and distance from the coast
- Climate
- Mediterranean, with microclimates that shift dramatically over short distances
- Rainfall
- Roughly 14 inches a year in the basin, concentrated in winter
- Growing season
- Year-round, constrained by heat and water rather than frost
- Soil
- Variable. Clay loam in the basin, decomposed granite and shallow soils over rock in the hills
Microclimate decides the plant list
Coastal properties get marine layer, moderated summer highs, and salt-laden air. Valley properties get twenty or more degrees of additional summer heat and far colder winter nights. Hillside properties get their own behavior again, with cold air draining downslope and ridgelines taking the full force of Santa Ana winds. The same species can be effortless on one side of the hill and a constant fight on the other, which is why a plant list copied from a nursery tag or a neighbor is such an unreliable starting point.
Hillside sites carry different constraints
A large share of desirable Los Angeles property sits on slope, and slope changes the entire sequence of work. Drainage and grade have to be resolved before anything is planted, because a planting installed over an unresolved slope fails on the slope's schedule rather than the plant's. Deep-rooted natives such as deergrass, ceanothus, and coast live oak do far more for long-term slope stability than any surface treatment. Irrigation on slope also behaves differently, with runoff and uneven infiltration undermining systems that would work fine on flat ground.
Rebates available to Los Angeles property owners
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers can generally access both the regional Metropolitan Water District turf replacement rebate and LADWP's own conservation programs, which is a meaningful stack. Rain barrel and cistern rebates appear in some cycles as well. Because programs run on annual funding pools with rules that change between cycles, the practical move is to confirm current terms and secure approval before installation begins.
What we do for Los Angeles clients
Design and strategy are delivered remotely, built from your site data rather than a visit, which works well because Los Angeles properties are unusually well mapped by public data. Sun, slope, soil series, and fire severity zone are all publicly available for any address here. On-site work is arranged per project. Most Los Angeles engagements start with the written site strategy and move into a full plan if the scope justifies it.