Mastodawn

He swapped his lawn for #NativePlants after asking, ‘What was meant to be here?’

You don’t need an acre of land to enrich the environment, says Christopher Smee of his Glendale front yard, which is filled with California native plants.

By Lisa Boone
March 30, 2026

- Christopher Smee replaced his water-hungry lawn in Glendale with native California plants like sage and poppies, re-creating the landscape that existed before the neighborhood’s 1920s development.
- The $20,000 transformation cut his water usage so dramatically that he now waters just once monthly in the summer.
- The experience inspired Smee to volunteer at a local preserve, helping plant hundreds of native species across the #VerdugoMountains area.

Excerpt: " 'I love the majesty and structure of the white sage,' he says, pointing out the dried branches he leaves for the birds. 'I love the color, and when I learned about its importance to the Indigenous community, I felt it should be at the center of the garden.' "

#SolarPunkSunday #LessLawnsMoreGardens #NativePlants #Gardening #RewildYourLawn

Glendale homeowner swapped his lawn for California native plants

'It’s really been a joy to reunite the soil with the plants that belong here,' Christopher Smee says of removing his lawn and planting California natives.

Los Angeles Times