Beach Cottage Loses the Lawn for a Stylish Low-Water Garden
Colorful plantings and soft exterior paint colors give a Southern California ranch cottage a fresh new look
Julie McMahon and Greg Fontana had wanted to update the exterior of their 1950s ranch cottage in Manhattan Beach, California, for years. After finishing their interior remodel a few years ago, it was time to give the exterior a face-lift. With a shared passion for design — McMahon is an interior designer and Fontana is an architect — they saw the potential to turn a ho-hum exterior into a stylish entryway, a colorful front garden and a backyard made for outdoor living.
Reducing water use outdoors was a goal from the start. The couple reached out to local landscape architect June Scott for low-water plant expertise and to help make their vision a reality. Scott laid out a plan to remove an existing crabgrass lawn in the front yard and reduce the size of turf in the backyard, replacing both with swaths of brightly colored succulents and drought-tolerant perennials.
Reducing water use outdoors was a goal from the start. The couple reached out to local landscape architect June Scott for low-water plant expertise and to help make their vision a reality. Scott laid out a plan to remove an existing crabgrass lawn in the front yard and reduce the size of turf in the backyard, replacing both with swaths of brightly colored succulents and drought-tolerant perennials.
AFTER: McMahon and Fontana scraped up the crabgrass and removed an old walkway on their own, then worked with Scott to create a welcoming garden bursting with color and interesting textures. The couple updated the original stucco on the home’s exterior with HardiePanel board-and-batten siding for a more contemporary farmhouse look.
Entryway bench: West Elm, refinished in black
Entryway bench: West Elm, refinished in black
A five-leaf chocolate vine (Akebia quinata, USDA zones 5 to 9) climbs up the side of the entryway.
McMahon selected galvanized barn-style light fixtures from Barn Light Electric Co. and added galvanized rain gutters to tie in with them. “We wanted a light, fresh look for the house, but didn’t want it to look like a lot of the modern farmhouses dotting the neighborhood that tend to favor white siding with black trim,” McMahon says. Instead, they chose a soft celadon paint color for the home’s exterior and a lime-gold hue for the windows and doors.
Exterior paint: Green Blue, Farrow & Ball; door and window trim paint: Meadow View, Benjamin Moore
McMahon selected galvanized barn-style light fixtures from Barn Light Electric Co. and added galvanized rain gutters to tie in with them. “We wanted a light, fresh look for the house, but didn’t want it to look like a lot of the modern farmhouses dotting the neighborhood that tend to favor white siding with black trim,” McMahon says. Instead, they chose a soft celadon paint color for the home’s exterior and a lime-gold hue for the windows and doors.
Exterior paint: Green Blue, Farrow & Ball; door and window trim paint: Meadow View, Benjamin Moore
When choosing plants, Scott selected low-water varieties that would echo and complement the colors of the home for an integrated look. “The plants lead the eye from the home to the garden and back again,” Scott says.
The pale green feathery leaves of grevillea growing against the house and the bright chartreuse of foxtail ferns (Asparagus densiflorus ‘Myers’, USDA zones 9 to 11, find your zone) planted below pick up the lime-gold door and window trim. Narrow-leaved blue chalk sticks (Senecio cylindricus, zones 10 to 11) and silver carpet (Dymondia margaretae, zones 9 to 11) planted between the poured concrete pavers relate to the blue-green exterior paint. Deep purple tree aeonium succulents (Aeonium arboreum, zones 9 to 10) and fiery leucadendron (Leucadendron ‘Jester’, zones 9 to 10) add interest and variety.
The pale green feathery leaves of grevillea growing against the house and the bright chartreuse of foxtail ferns (Asparagus densiflorus ‘Myers’, USDA zones 9 to 11, find your zone) planted below pick up the lime-gold door and window trim. Narrow-leaved blue chalk sticks (Senecio cylindricus, zones 10 to 11) and silver carpet (Dymondia margaretae, zones 9 to 11) planted between the poured concrete pavers relate to the blue-green exterior paint. Deep purple tree aeonium succulents (Aeonium arboreum, zones 9 to 10) and fiery leucadendron (Leucadendron ‘Jester’, zones 9 to 10) add interest and variety.
Scott and her team laid a 2-foot-wide curved pathway of decomposed granite to create a journey through the front garden. To help keep the decomposed granite in place, Scott layered it on top of an aggregate base and compacted the pathway with a 1-to-3-ton roller. As the plants fill in, many will spill over the edges to soften the walkway, as the blue-green chalk sticks are beginning to do. “I love to emphasize textures and to use plants to soften the edges of the design,” Scott says.
Space 2: Backyard
BEFORE: Until work began on the backyard, the homeowners had the horticultural equivalent of wall-to-wall carpeting. Sod blanketed all areas of the garden, extending from the concrete drive to narrow planting beds along the home and back fence. The L-shape of the backyard naturally divided the space into two areas, but neither provided much of a reason to draw a visitor outdoors.
BEFORE: Until work began on the backyard, the homeowners had the horticultural equivalent of wall-to-wall carpeting. Sod blanketed all areas of the garden, extending from the concrete drive to narrow planting beds along the home and back fence. The L-shape of the backyard naturally divided the space into two areas, but neither provided much of a reason to draw a visitor outdoors.
AFTER: Using the L-shape of the backyard, Scott defined two distinct areas of the garden: an inviting outdoor fire pit patio, shown here, and an area for a raised-bed kitchen garden, connected by a small section of lawn. “This is a family garden, so we wanted to give everyone what they needed: grass and vegetable tending for the kids, and a place to relax for the adults,” Scott says.
Tucked behind the home in an area that gets plenty of sun, two 8-by-4-foot raised beds provide abundant fresh ingredients for family recipes. “We grow everything from tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, peas and even corn,” McMahon says. Hooking the beds up to drip irrigation and setting the watering schedule to irrigate at night cuts down on maintenance and water use.
Scott continued the planting theme from the front yard by packing borders with drought-tolerant perennials and colorful succulents. The freshly painted blue-green side of the garage acts as a backdrop for the yellow flower spikes of kangaroo paw (Anigozanthos flavidus, zones 10 to 11), with foxtail ferns (Asparagus densiflorus ‘Myers’, zones 9 to 11) and chartreuse aeonium succulents (Aeonium haworthii ‘Kiwi’, zones 9 to 11) in front.
Just off the back porch, a decomposed granite patio, measuring about 16 by 16 feet, ties together the front and backyard hardscape materials. The homeowners selected the teak furniture set, smoke-free fire pit and colorful throw pillows that complement the home’s exterior paint colors. “It’s wonderful to open up the French doors on a beautiful night and light the fire pit. It really draws us outside,” McMahon says.
Patio furniture: Teak Warehouse in Manhattan Beach
Patio furniture: Teak Warehouse in Manhattan Beach
Scott offers design tips for getting a lush look with low-water plants.
Browse more stories about gardens designed to save water
- Add plants with a range of light, medium and dark green leaves. Many drought-tolerant plants have gray-green leaves. Deepen the palette and make the garden feel more verdant with a variety of greens.
- Include plants that invoke water. Scott likes to use plants like California gray rush (Juncus patens, zones 7 to 10) that typically grow along ponds and stream beds but can also thrive with less water.
- Plant in closely spaced groups. “I am a gardener and designer who hates to see any bare earth in the garden,” Scott says. To get a lush look, plant swaths of a single variety close enough so that they’ll grow in to almost touch.
Browse more stories about gardens designed to save water
Yard at a Glance
Who lives here: Julie McMahon, Greg Fontana and their two young daughters
Location: Manhattan Beach, California
Lot size: 6,000 square feet (557 square meters)
Designer: June Scott Design
Fast-forward five months, and McMahon is pleased to report that their new low-water garden is flourishing. “Depending on the month, it can be less than half of our original water bill,” McMahon says. She adds that the town’s strict water rationing limits them to watering twice a week for a few minutes. “Thankfully, our plants are thriving,” she says.
Space 1: Front Yard
BEFORE: “The old, thick stucco on the outside of our 1950s home was an eyesore, and the garden looked like it hadn’t been redone since then either,” McMahon says. Crabgrass and various shrubs dotted the front yard, surrounding a mature king palm.