Allow me to paint a picture.  You’re walking down the sidewalk, most likely wearing your new sustainably cork-lined eco shoes, when suddenly you hear it.  A hiss.  Then another hiss.  And before you can leap out of the way, the hissing explodes into a shower of water.  Soon enough, you are standing in an urban waterfall and your fabulous Stella McCartney organic espadrilles are soaked.  Why?  Because your neighbors seem to think that turning on the sprinklers means unleashing Niagara Falls into the street.  After all, they have a garden and therefore are entitled to all this water.  Right?

Well, obviously the answer is heck no.  Los Angeles alone wastes 100 million gallons of water a day – enough to fill the Rose Bowl.  According to experts, people water their gardens two to three times more than they actually need.  That water goes into the streets and then into the ocean – carrying with it whatever yuckity yucks (toxins, heavy metals, pesticides, oil, and animal wastes) it picks up along the way.

So how can we stop this ridiculous cycle of water waste, and yet somehow maintain a beautiful, green lawn?  Recently, we spoke with sustainable garden design expert Marilee Kuhlmann.  Kuhlmann owns Los Angeles-based Comfort Zones Garden Designs, and she shares with us what it means to have a truly green garden. 

Greenopia:  It seems like all someone has to do is plant a cactus in his or her yard to claim it sustainable.  What exactly does it mean to have a sustainable garden?

Kuhlmann:  When we talk “sustainable,” we are talking in terms of creating a water budget for the garden.  And then we will design to the water budget.  This means using plants appropriate to the area, and it means using irrigation with 90% efficiency.  This doesn’t include spray heads. 

Greenopia:  No spray heads?  What else would you use besides sprinklers?

Kuhlmann:  There are a couple of other options.  We prefer to use drip irrigation or matched precipitation rotators.  (Drip irrigation means applying water only where and when it is needed, resulting in less runoff and less evaporation from leaves and soil.  A matched precipitation rotator also results in less runoff and waste. The uniform application of water from drip irrigation systems can achieve high water savings.  We also used implement gray water systems (utilizing the used washing water of the home) and cisterns for rainwater runoff.

Greenopia:  Your business, Comfort Zones Garden Design, is dedicated developing landscaping with a “responsible stewardship of the land.”  What exactly do you do for your clients?

Kuhlmann:  We specialize in eco-retrofits, remediation and design for home residual gardens.  This means your garden will be sustainable is every way.  We even account for the pollutants that come onto your property when it rains.  After all, sustainability is local.  You can contain your pollution, even the part that lands on your house.

Greenopia:  You can design a garden to clean rainwater? 

Kuhlmann:  Think of it this way.  It starts raining, and the first inch of water carries down all the pollutants from the sky.  Consequently, the pollutants go straight into the street and into the ocean.  So it is imperative that the first inch of water stays on the property so we can do site remediation.  This means that the garden can eat up the pollutants.

Greenopia:  So what kind of plants eat dirty rainwater?

Kuhlmann:  We only use plants that evapotranspiration.  (This is the sum of evaporation and transpiration.)  We only put in plants that use 50% or less than turf (grass/sod) uses.  Turf uses 50 inches of water per year per square foot.  Each square foot of grass in the Los Angeles area requires five feet of water.  Native plants only require a foot and a half.  And they can get that from rainfall. 

Greenopia:  Do you clients know what they are asking for when they order up a sustainable yard? 

Kuhlmann:  We only work with clients interested in the state of art stuff.  For us, green gardening isn’t about pretty landscaping.  Most people just don’t know what it means to go sustainable.  It is really just a matter of education.

Greenopia:  Wow, who knew there were so many details to sustainable garden design. 

Kuhlmann:  This is why we started G3 LA.   Many people say they are sustainable and don’t even know what that means.  G3 LA is a group of garden designers devoted to educating homeowners, design professionals, and the local community in the latest eco-restorative landscape techniques.  We also promote the principles of low-impact development.  We teach public and private classes to homeowners, as well as to professional designers, landscapers, and contractors.  We also provide certification that professionals are sustainable.

Greenopia:  What are some tips that our readers can implement in their own gardens to make them more sustainable/green?

Kuhlmann:  Turn off the irrigation!  Research what your plants actually need and water.  If you live in Southern California, you can check out this calculator to figure out exactly how much water your lawn needs.  Just give it your zip code, and get ready to save!

Comfort Zones Garden Design primarily serves Southern California, but you can find more information about sustainable gardening here.  

>> Check out " Can You Grow with No Garden" for more green gardening tips!