Ocean Friendly Gardens apply CPR: Conservation, Permeability, and Retention to revive our watersheds and oceans.

• Conservation of water, energy, and habitat through climate-adapted plants, spaced for mature growth. 
• Permeability through healthy, biologically active soil, and utilizing materials for, or making a cut in, driveways, walkways, and patios that allow water to percolate into the soil. 
• Retention devices like rain chains, rain barrels, and rain gardens retain water in the soil for the dry seasons or save it to water vegetables, preventing it from running off the property.

Elements of this garden design include:

• Climate appropriate plants: Plant palette to be exclusively California Native plants. Plants will provide food and habitat for native butterflies, birds, and bees. 
• Site Grading and Infiltration Areas: The soil of the site is to be graded into subtle mounds and depressions, evocative of waves, with massings of plants following the contour and accentuating the grading. This manipulation of the ground plane allows for rainwater to infiltrate locally, for use by plant root systems, as well as percolate into the groundwater in the infiltration areas. No surface runoff is to be directed to impermeable surfaces or piped unfiltered into the ocean. 
• Wood Mulch: Install 3”-4” shredded bark mulch for water conservation. 
• Healthy Soil: Biological testing and compost tea application for living soil. 
• Boulders and Gravel: Local boulders, if possible. 
• Recycled Broken Concrete: To be obtained locally, if possible, for use in retaining soil around infiltration areas. 
• Drip Irrigation: For application directly to each plant, reducing evaporation and overspray. 
• Smart Controller: Determines ET rate and adjusts irrigation volume and frequency accordingly.

You can learn more about these types of gardens, and other projects in the region, by visiting the Surfrider Ocean Friendly Gardens website.

Strand Garden

The Green Gardens Group (G3) has developed a draft site design, including drainage and grading plans, to help visualize the new demonstration garden for the Strand landscape. G3 has also created an initial California native plant list to highlight the plant specimens that will be included in this ocean-friendly garden.

• Manhattan Beach Strand Planting Design (PDF) 
• Manhattan Beach Strand Grading & Drainage Design (PDF)
• Ocean Friendly Garden Plant List (PDF)

 Please direct questions to the City's Public Works Department at (310) 802-5313.

The City of Manhattan Beach has several examples of sustainable landscapes, from the entrance to City Hall to the Leadership Manhattan Beach garden in front of the Post Office, to Nelson parkway off of Aviation. All of these gardens aim to show the community how you can create a beautiful landscaped space that will conserve and retain water, and bring natural wildlife back to the area.

• Landscape Sustainability Audit
  Learn how to transform your landscape into a California-friendly garden that will conserve water, reduce runoff, and bring birds and beneficial insects back to your yard. The goal of DIY audit is to provide residents with information pertaining to California-friendly landscaping, including reducing turf to 20% of overall landscaped areas; water-efficient irrigation systems and rain sensors; rainwater retention and harvesting; composting and growing an organic vegetable garden, etc.
  
  
• Turf Replacement Rebate
  Are you ready to get rid of your water-guzzling lawn and switch to a drought-tolerant garden? If you are interested in making the switch, then please make use of the informational resources available here, and go to the SoCalWaterSmart website to reserve your rebate. The West Basin Municipal Water District also offers an additional partner rebate to increase the total rebate amount. 
  
  
• Manhattan Beach Botanical Garden
  Once you complete your landscape project, or if you already have a sustainable garden, make sure to get your very own Seal of Approval from the Manhattan Beach Botanical Garden. The MB Botanical Garden Seal of Approval list of yards (PDF) offers some great examples of sustainable yards in town. The Botanical Garden is also a great place to visit for ideas of what thrives in our coastal town -- please review their extensive plant list. To get your own Seal of Approval, contact Julie Gonella at (310) 546-1354.
  
  
• FREE Mulch!
  

  Mulch is available free of charge, at the City's Public Works Yard (3621 Bell Avenue, next to the National Guard Armory). The program is self-serve, and residents are encouraged to pick up as much mulch as is needed for their landscape projects. Should residents require a larger load of mulch for their projects, local tree trimmers will make large mulch deliveries to the homeowners, also at no charge. You can view the list of tree trimmers, as well as a more information on the program and a map of the mulch site, on the Got Mulch Flyer (PDF).
  
  Free mulch is also available at other South Bay locations including Lago Seco Park in Torrance, and the S.A.F.E. Collection Center in San Pedro.

• Post Office Demonstration Garden
  The City's Environmental Task Force and Leadership Manhattan Beach Class of 2012 designed a wonderful example of sustainable landscaping. Learn more about the features of the project, and review the Post Office Plant List (PDF) to find out how you can create your own sustainable garden.

Nobody wants to share their home or garden with pests like mosquitos, cockroaches, aphids, or rodents, but using chemical pesticides to manage them often has unknown and unintended consequences. Though approved for use in your home or garden, if careful instructions for use and disposal are not followed, they can cause harm to people, pets, beneficial garden insects such as bees and ladybugs, beneficial soil organisms such as earthworms, and aquatic life in our oceans and waterways. Rain can also transport harmful chemical pesticides directly into our local water supply through local storm drain systems. 

The good news: There are many effective and sustainable techniques that skip the chemical pesticides. 

Step 1: Prevents pests

Preventing pests in the first place will save you the time and money it costs to be rid of them later. Pests need access to food, water, and shelter just like us, so eliminating those sources in your home and garden will help keep the pests away. 

• Remove sources of food.
• Seal openings, cracks, and crevices to prevent access to your home.
• Prevent water from accumulating. Mosquitos only need a tablespoon of water to breed. Check these common areas after a rain: old tires, buckets, watering cans, tarps, potted plant saucers, barrels and bins, grills, bird baths, artificial ponds and fountains, and more.
• Native and climate appropriate plants are often resistant to pests, disease, and fungus. 
• Choose plants that attract beneficial insects that will prey on pests. For example, ladybugs eat aphids, orb weaver spiders, often found in gardens, eat mosquitos, and praying mantises eat just about everything, including aphids, flies, and slugs. Note: choosing the right plants to naturally attract beneficial insects is preferable to purchasing and releasing these insects. Insects purchased from stores or online are often non-native species and can be harmful to native insects. Read more about this method here. 

Step 2: Remove pests sustainably

If pests do make themselves present in your home or garden, you can remove them without chemical pesticides. Apply physical or mechanical removal techniques such as the use of force, barriers, or traps. Hose insects off of plants, apply mulch to kill weeds, and use sticky traps for insects like ants. Read more about controlling ants here. 

Last resort: proper use and disposal of pesticides 

If chemical pesticides become necessary, make sure to use and dispose of them properly. Always read the instructions and warnings on the label, and follow the tips below. 

• Choose the least toxic product available. Learn more here. 
• Choose a USEPA registered product. 
• Do not apply pesticides the day before watering or irrigating your garden or within 24 hours of expected rain. 
• Spot treat where needed instead of over applying pesticides to a large area. 
• When the product is empty, rinse with water and re-use the water as you normally would use the product. Once completely emptied, dispose properly. Pesticides are considered a household hazardous waste. Have your hazardous waste collected at your door or find a drop off site here. 

Learn more about sustainable pest management from South Bay Cities Council of Governments. 

FREE Mulch is available at the City's Public Works Yard

The Community Mulch Program started as a pilot project, and is now a program to provide citizens easy access to free organic mulch for their yards and community projects. Providing a local resource in which to easily pickup mulch will provide residents with a sustainable method of maintaining their landscapes, as opposed to the energy-intensive process surrounding store-bought mulch. Organic mulch is an essential component of a water-wise, sustainable garden and helps reduce or eliminate the need for pesticides by promoting soil health, maintaining soil moisture, and assisting in retention of water on-site.

Properties that use mulch on their landscaping can save up to 50% of the water used on traditional landscapes, which on average will save each residential water user 39,270 gallons per year, or $196 in reduced water bills.

Mulch is being delivered, free of charge, to the City Public Works Yard (3621 Bell Avenue) where it is available for residents to pick up and transport to their properties.

Please direct questions to the City's Public Works Department at (310) 802-5313.

Did you know that irrigation constitutes over 50% of water use in America?  Consider drought tolerant landscaping to significantly reduce water usage at your home or business.  The majority of the City's parks and medians are irrigated with reclaimed water.  This is a major effort to reduce the City's usage of potable water. 

The Manhattan Beach Botanical Garden (MBBG) has a wonderful drought tolerant garden for residents and businesses to learn from.  The garden is located in Polliwog Park, on Peck Avenue, just north of Manhattan Beach Boulevard and is open from 8:00 AM to sundown daily.  Admission is free.  MBBG also offers free classes to teach you how to plant and care for your own drought tolerant garden. Please visit their website to check the class schedule and sign up to attend. For additional questions please contact the MBBG at (310) 546-1354.

You Can Plant Drought Tolerants!

Need a new look for your front yard, patio or entryway? Don't know what to plant on your hillside or parking strips? The California Friendly Garden Guide has assembled an easy-to-use idea finder for the most common landscaping dilemmas. Take a virtual tour of local drought tolerant gardens and view the large number of examples of drought-resistant plants and landscapes the Garden Guide offers. The Garden Guide also allows you to create a personal catalog of plants to help you plan your new garden.

The City also offers several resources, and rebate information for installation of CA-friendly gardens, on its Sustainable Landscape webpage.

Here are a more ways to help you get started:

Water Wise gardens conserve water by utilizing California native, drought tolerant plants.  If you would like to view a variety of drought tolerant landscaping, locate water wise gardens in California.

The Water Replenishment District offers Free Eco Gardner classes, and a free drought resistant landscaping Water Saving Calculator to show you how much you might save by changing your landscaping.

Additional Resources:

• Garden Web
• Plant Encyclopedia
• The Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants, Inc.

For additional information contact the Environmental Sustainability Division at (310) 802-5508.

The Environmental Task Force recommended a water conservation project to convert the landscape surrounding the U.S. Post Office located at 425 15th Street in Manhattan Beach, to a sustainable garden with at least 50% less lawn, environmentally appropriate plantings, a water-efficient irrigation system, mulch applied between shrubs and trees, and walking paths made up of decomposed granite or mulch. City Council unanimously approved this project, and the Leadership Manhattan Beach 2012 class selected the proposal as their class project.

A site assessment was conducted by the City before any work on the project began. The lawn area measures 4,381 square feet and consumes a substantial amount of water; calculated at 2,274 gallons of water per week. The landscape surrounding the Post Office is primarily composed of turf and ivy. The shrubs are many years old and are maintained by shaping into squares and circles, and there were two trees on the property that were unhealthy and dying. These trees were recommended for removal, and will be replaced by climate-appropriate species suitable for the project site.  

The existing landscape would benefit from an update because it is on such a high-visibility corner of the City, which is one of the reasons the Environmental Task Force believed it to be a good location for a satellite demonstration garden, similar to the project flanking the entrance to City Hall.

The project will demonstrate the principles of sustainable landscaping, such as water conservation, reduction of runoff, and eco-friendly maintenance including the use of mulch. The Leadership Manhattan Beach class made use of the Community Mulch pilot program as they began work on the project site to smother any remaining turf and prepare the soil for planting in April.  

The City and Environmental Task Force are looking forward to the partnership with the Leadership Manhattan Beach 2012 class to make this sustainable garden project proposal a reality.

Project Design

The Post Office location was selected as a project site by the ETF because of its high visibility and potential to add to the civic pride of the City of Manhattan Beach. Because the project site location is one that will impact users throughout the community, a comprehensive public outreach effort is underway to solicit input and feedback from the public.

An initial project design has been developed in partnership with the Manhattan Beach Botanical Garden and the Garden Magic Company to create a landscape that will conserve natural resources and revitalize the Post Office and City Hall Annex area. The design incorporates principles of sustainable landscaping and is intended to create a public space for the community to experience and enjoy. The project will also incorporate several other components of ETF programs, including a hands-on demonstration of the sustainable landscape audit and use of the community mulch pile.

The landscape features California native and climate-appropriate plants to draw wildlife to the area; seating, circular pathways, and a recirculating water feature for the public to enjoy; and is designed around an existing public art piece and flag pole. Should the existing features be removed or replaced, the design plan can accommodate those changes.

Tree Removal Recommendations

Because of visible tree-health issues, an arborist was brought in by the City to examine the site, and found serious problems with two of the trees on the project site. City Staff recommends that the two unhealthy trees be removed. Because the trees are not located in a tree preservation area, a tree removal permit is not required. However, staff has notified the community of the potential tree removal, sent notices to neighboring residents, and is collecting public comments from the community.

There are three New Zealand Christmas trees in the City right-of-way along 15th Street, plus a Monterey Pine and Victorian Box located in the south-facing landscape at the Post Office. The removal of the Monterey Pine and Victorian Box trees are recommended because of health and safety concerns. If removed, the trees will be replaced with climate-appropriate shade trees.

The Monterey Pine is located in the lawn area at the south side of the building, and is showing signs of a disease called Pitch Canker. There are no known effective treatments for this disease. The trunk leans to the north significantly and tree form is asymmetrical. There is some root wounding observable in the lawn, and the tree is in poor health.

The Victorian Box tree is also located in the lawn area at the south side of the building, and this tree is nearly dead. Defoliation is at an estimated 95% and longstanding site conditions and disease have caused necrosis.

Please direct questions to the City's Environmental Sustainability Division at (310) 802-5508.