If you are looking for guidance in replacing a thirsty garden with a water-wise landscape, here are two resources:
The Association of Professional Landscape Designers has an easy to use website: www.apld.org.
Under “find a landscaper” users can plug in a zip code and use the pull-down menu to select the type of design. For example, “California Native”, “Drought Tolerant”, etc. A listing and description of more than 20 landscape designers will pop up.
For those residents more in the do-it-yourself mode, consider beginning with the latest edition of “Sunset Western Garden Book of Easy-Care Plantings: The Ultimate Guide to Low-Water Beds, Borders and Containers”.
It is filled with ideas and breaks them out by areas gardeners may want to plant.
It is a good primer and will sensitize you as to design, color palate, and so on. One bit of warning is that many of the gardens featured are located in areas with far more water than Los Angeles. They also fail to mention issues of light intensity and shade.
