A Stoop to a Garden: Their Journey from NYC to SoCal

A New Vision for a Low-Water Garden

Water-hungry lawns are symbols of Los Angeles’ past. In this series, we spotlight yards with alternative, low-water landscaping built for the future. Christian Svanes Kolding and Adriana Estrada, a couple from San Francisco, had long dreamed of creating a garden that was both environmentally friendly and welcoming to their neighbors. Their journey began in 1995 when they met through a friend’s small apartment garden, but it wasn’t until 2021 that they finally had the opportunity to create their own.

Estrada, a former surfer and board member of the Surfrider Foundation, wanted a landscape that was ocean-friendly, designed to keep rainwater in the ground instead of letting it run off into the streets and pollute the ocean. Kolding, on the other hand, wanted a space that would encourage interaction with the community and featured an attractive fence rather than a tall barrier. Both were marathon runners who loved the colors and scents of the natural landscapes they ran through in the Laguna Hills and Santa Ana Mountains. Initially, they considered using succulents and cacti, but they soon discovered the beauty of white sage and sagebrush, which inspired them to bring more native plants into their yard.

Their new home, a Craftsman-style house built in 1919 in Long Beach's Craftsman Village Historic District, offered the perfect canvas. The house is just 1,050 square feet, but with the porch and yard, it feels much larger. Estrada and Kolding had previously lived in an 850-square-foot studio in New York City, where their outdoor spaces were limited to a fire escape and front stoop. During the pandemic, they found themselves longing for more open space, and their decision to move to California marked the beginning of their new chapter.

The couple faced several challenges in transforming their yard. The front yard was overgrown with weeds and parched Bermuda grass, and it became a popular spot for neighborhood dogs. They initially tried planting agave, but after reading an article about ocean-friendly gardens, they reached out to Kai Craig, a local landscape architect and member of the Surfrider Foundation. Craig helped them design a sustainable garden that included native plants and permeable surfaces to manage stormwater.

One of the key elements of their project was enrolling in Long Beach's Lawn to Garden program, which offers rebates for replacing lawns with California-native or climate-appropriate plants. The program required them to cover at least 65% of the lawn area with these plants and include efficient irrigation and rainwater capture systems. The rebates covered about a third of the $17,000 project, making it more affordable.

Craig also advised them to install bioswales—shallow trenches filled with stones—to collect rainwater and prevent runoff. These features have proven effective, and the plants are thriving with minimal watering. The couple also participated in the Native Plant Parkway Program, which provided free native plants and mulch to help restore the parkway in front of their home.

The transformation has been a labor of love. Removing weeds and Bermuda grass was physically demanding, especially when they had to plant in the dark before a trip. But four years later, the yard is a lush, vibrant space filled with native grasses, shrubs, and flowers. The bioswales are almost invisible under the greenery, and the yard has become a haven for butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.

In addition to native plants, the couple has incorporated some non-native species, such as Silver Sheen Kohuhu and pink jasmine, to add privacy and beauty. A Sierra fig tree, obtained for free from the city, will soon provide shade and fruit. The couple plans to paint their home and tackle the larger backyard, which they hope will include raised garden beds, fruit trees, and more fragrant plantings.

For now, they enjoy the perfumed front yard, where a custom "Casa Hiatus" flag symbolizes their vision of a space that invites people to pause and reflect. The fence design encourages passersby to step off the sidewalk and engage with the garden, making it a true community hub.

List of Plants Used in the Garden

Native Plants

• Berkeley sedge (Carex tumulicola)
• Bush monkey flower (Diplacus aurantiacus)
• California lilac (Ceanothus thyrsiflorus 'Skylark')
• California sagebrush (Artemisia californica)
• Celestial blue sage (Salvia ‘Celestial Blue’)
• Chaparral beardtongue (Keckiella antirrhinoides var. antirrhinoides)
• Coffeeberry (Frangula californica)
• Coyote mint (Monardella villosa)
• Deergrass (Muhlenbergia rigens)
• Giant wildrye (Elymus condensatus)
• Hollywood Flame Hummingbird Fuchsia (Epilobium canum ‘Hollywood Flame’)
• Hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea)
• Louis Edmunds baker's manzanita (Arctostaphylos bakeri 'Louis Edmunds')
• Mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus betuloides)
• Narrowleaf milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis)
• Palmer's Indian mallow (Abutilon palmeri)
• Pink-flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum var. glutinosum)
• Point St. George aster (Symphyotrichum chilense 'Point Saint George')
• Red-flowered buckwheat (Eriogonum grande var. rubescens)
• White sage (Salvia apiana)
• Yarrow (various) (Achillea millefolium)

Non-Native Plants

• Coral bells (Heuchera 'Siren's Song')
• European grey sedge (Carex divulsa)
• Pink Jasmine (Jasminum polyanthum)
• Sierra fig
• Silver Sheen Kohuhu (Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Silver Sheen')

Resources

• Long Beach's Lawn to Garden program
• Long Beach's Native Plant Parkway Program
• Long Beach's Tree Planting Program