LOS ANGELES -- Landscape designer Paul Robbins had more than water conservation in mind when he removed the muddy turf and bamboo behind his Pasadena rental and created a welcoming, low-water landscape.
"Our garden is very family-friendly," says Robbins, gesturing toward the Victorian box tree where his 5-year-old daughter Ava likes to swing. Next to it, a butterfly chair is strategically placed underneath the shade of a towering fig tree. "Audrey likes to sit there and listen to the stone trough water fountain," he says of his 6-month old daughter. "You can still have a green and lush garden with very little water. Drought-tolerant doesn't have to look desert-like or stark."
You would expect an Englishman to favor thirsty annuals and perennials, but Robbins says he pivoted to drought-tolerant plants long before the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California declared a water shortage emergency and ordered outdoor watering limited to two days a week. Even so, he thinks gardens should reference the wonder of living in a place like Los Angeles.
