Top Ten Productive Habits
1. Learn how to prune shrubs and trees to keep your garden looking great.
Before…
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After
2. Hire a good gardener. Nothing will ruin a new landscape faster than a careless mow and blow gardener. But if you’re like a lot of folks I talk to and you can’t find a good one, consider hiring a planting and irrigation crew to come to your home two or three times a year to prune, replace dead plants and fix broken irrigation. Ask your landscape contractor for recommendations.
3. Pick up trash. It’s easy to walk past empty cups and debris on the street or sidewalk. Be a force for change. Stop and pick it up wherever you find it.
https://www.doinggoodtogether.org/projects/clean-up-your-neighborhood
4. Clean out items for recycling. That yogurt container doesn’t need to be spotless, just clean enough not to contaminate other items and attract pests.
https://ecomyths.org/myth-you-must-rinse-all-containers-before-recycling-them/
5. Water is a dwindling resource we need to prioritize and conserve. Remove grass and add plants where feasible. The SoCal Water$mart project provides rebates for changing from high water usage items like grass to drought tolerant plants and trees. See the link below:
https://socalwatersmart.com/en/residential/rebates/available-rebates/turf-replacement-program/
6. Consider boulders in your landscape and gabion walls constructed from natural elements like cobble and gravel to save on costs and improve your carbon footprint.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652622034849
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-024-01960-0
7. Don’t bury your plants too deeply.
https://www.purdue.edu/fnr/extension/planting-problems-planting-too-deep/
8. Don’t be afraid to remove dying trees. We all love old trees. They provide shade, beauty and act as ecosystems for many of the native flora and fauna in the area. But healthy ecosystems will have old, young and middle-aged trees and plants. When trees get too old and are left in poor condition they can become hazardous, so talk to an arborist before considering the removal of any large tree. Many species, like Coast Live Oaks, are protected and have strict guidelines around removing and even pruning branches. And if you do remove an old unhealthy tree, plant a new one. The soil will thank you. Young trees and old trees absorb different nutrients from the soil and having a palette of various aged trees is a good way to regenerate your soil.
https://arbordayblog.org/treecare/saying-goodbye-when-its-time-to-remove-your-tree/
9. You know that strip of ugly yellow grass between your sidewalk and the street? Get rid of it. It’s costing you money and hurting the environment. More often than not it is being overwatered by inefficient sprayhead irrigation, which typically leaves water marks on vehicles parked on the street before running off to the sewer and then out into Santa Monica Bay. Consider substituting decomposed granite, beach pebbles, or even planting drought-tolerant plants with drip irrigation; but be mindful to allow room for visitors stepping out of their cars to cross the parkway to the sidewalk. Ask your landscape contractor about creative fixes.
10. Test your soil if you’re going to plant an edible garden or if you have young kids who like to play in the yard. Nutrient deprived and sunbaked clay soils are problematic, but even worse are the general contractors who leave behind construction debris after they’ve remodeled your home. Nothing will spoil the flavor of your citrus like heavy metals and bacterial contaminants, so if you’re in a recently built home or have had significant construction done, test your soil. Below is a laboratory in W. LA that will test your soil and provide helpful guidelines to remediation.