Adriana Estrada & Christian Svanes Kolding transformed their drab lawn into a fabulous Ocean Friendly Garden (OFG) with the help of a Lawn-to-Garden Rebate, an expert OFG designer, and a vision to connect their yard to the environment and their local community.
Adriana is not only a longtime surfer and member, but also a former chair of the Surfrider Foundation’s board of directors. She even ran the 2024 NYC marathon as part of Surfrider's team! Christian filmed and directed this inspiring video about their Ocean Friendly Garden, and drew all of the stunning illustrations too!
When Adriana & Christian started on their yard transformation, they were hoping to save water in a dry southern Californian climate and incorporate some plants from their favorite hiking spots. Their historic craftsman village home was picturesque, but their bare front yard was not quite as enticing.
When Kai Craig's Ocean Friendly Gardens landscaping work was featured in an article in The Drop, they knew they had found the right person to help create the OFG of their dreams!
Kai is a longtime Surfrider volunteer who has been involved with the Long Beach Chapter of Surfrider for over 7 years. He is also an expert landscaper with his own design-build company, Cal Eco Design, and lends his expertise to many Surfrider OFG projects around the city.
Permeable flagstone pathways & stone-filled gaps in the concrete patio guide rainwater & runoff to one of the front yard bioswales.
Kai designed permeable flagstone pathways edged with river rock to soak in rain and runoff, and added gaps filled with decorative stones between the concrete slabs to direct water back into the garden beds. Each corner of the front yard has a bioswale that adds runoff collecting capacity, an area for water to slow down and sink in instead of running off to the street.
They utilized their local Lawn-to-Garden Rebate and Native Plant Parkway Program to help offset the costs of the project, which provides incentives to homeowners who want to remove their grass lawn and replace it with more sustainable landscaping choices.
A mix of grasses, fragrant sages, blooming flowers, and other native plants support pollinator habitat aboveground and healthy soil below. The native plants are naturally drought tolerant and adapted to the local climate, and their deep root systems store carbon and promote looser, spongier soil that is ready to soak up the rain.
Their yard is now not only a beautiful, pollution preventing oasis, but also a conversation starter with neighbors and passerby. A recent LA Times article featured their yard as an inspirational example, highlighting their story and the connection they have developed with their garden.
Bright orange monkeyflowers stand out against the soft green of sagebrush, white sage, and coyote mint. The decorative stones outline the low point of this bioswale.
Adriana & Christian have also graciously let us film informative OFG videos in their front yard with Jason Journeyman to help spread awareness for why Ocean Friendly Gardens are important to protecting clean water at the coast. You can see lots of butterflies and blooms in the background!
Is your yard an Ocean Friendly Garden?
Check out our OFG critieria (en Español) to find out! If your yard or community space meets all criteria, you can be an ambassador for ocean-friendly gardening by registering it to our OFG map.
If you are just starting out on your OFG journey, check out our free beginner's guide: Getting Started with Ocean Friendly Gardens (en Español) and learn more on our Ocean Friendly Gardens page.