Landscaping and Irrigation in Los Angeles and Across Southern California
Green Design and Build designs and installs the planted parts of a backyard along with the hardscape: drought-tolerant and California-native planting, soil preparation, drip irrigation, low-voltage lighting and drainage, for homeowners across Los Angeles County, the San Fernando Valley, Orange County, Ventura County, western Riverside County and western San Bernardino County.
Most of our outdoor living projects start as a hardscape conversation. The planted areas in between are where the water, the drainage and the maintenance live. This page covers how we build them, what the turf rebate actually pays for, and what landscaping costs installed.
What we design and install
- Planting design with drought-tolerant and California-native palettes chosen for your microclimate.
- Soil preparation, mulch, rock and decomposed granite.
- Drip irrigation, new zones and spray-to-drip conversions, weather-based controllers, sleeves under hardscape.
- Low-voltage landscape lighting, connected by our licensed electrician.
- Drainage tie-in, tree planting near slabs, and lawn removal.
Why landscaping belongs with the hardscape contractor
A backyard is built in a sequence: grade and drainage, rough utilities and sleeves, footings, base and compaction, surfaces, then structures and finishes. Landscaping touches every step: the irrigation main crosses under the patio, the bed drains share the patio’s outlet, the lighting wire runs under the walkway, and the tree goes in before the pavers.
When one contractor builds the hardscape and another comes back for the landscaping, missing sleeves mean cutting a slab to run a wire, grades set for the patio alone leave a bed draining toward the house, and when something ponds, each contractor points at the other. On our jobs one crew sets the grades, one set of drawings covers hardscape and planting, one permit set covers the electrical and any gas, and one person is responsible.
Our rule of thumb: any place a bed or a future feature sits on the far side of a hardscape surface gets a sleeve. A length of 2-inch PVC in the base before compaction costs almost nothing; the same run after the pavers are down costs a day of labor and a patch that never matches.
Plant palettes for the Valley, the coast and inland
Southern California is not one climate, and the plant list that thrives in Santa Monica scorches in Chatsworth.
The San Fernando Valley and inland Los Angeles County. Summer highs pass 100 degrees, west-facing beds bake from noon until dark, and north Valley winter nights can dip near freezing. We lean on plants that handle both: manzanita, ceanothus, toyon, California fuchsia, deer grass, salvias, agave and aloe, with palo verde or western redbud for canopy. Anything that reads as tropical needs far more water than makes sense here.
Coastal Orange County and coastal Ventura County. The marine layer keeps mornings cool, soils drain better, and plants that rot in Valley clay do fine. Coastal sage scrub, lavender, rosemary, kangaroo paw and most succulents thrive on minimal irrigation. In Orange County the palette also has to pass HOA design review, which usually means a tidier look than a native meadow.
Inland Orange County, the Conejo Valley, western Riverside and western San Bernardino. Hotter and drier, with larger lots to irrigate. The priority is durable structure plants spaced generously, decomposed granite between them, and trees placed for afternoon shade. If a plant is a bad idea for your lot, we will say so.
Soil: clay, decomposed granite and hillsides
Valley clay. Much of the San Fernando Valley sits on heavy clay that holds water for days, suffocates roots and shrinks and swells with the seasons, which is also why it heaves slabs. Our site-visit test: dig a hole a foot deep, fill it with water, and see whether it is still there in the morning. If it is, more amendment will not fix it; that bed needs drainage, a mounded planting, or plants that tolerate wet winters. Slopes and retaining walls add their own drainage rules.
Decomposed granite and sandy soils. Rancho Cucamonga, parts of Murrieta and the foothills sit on decomposed granite and alluvial soils that drain fast and hold almost nothing. We amend with compost, mulch deeply and run drip on shorter, more frequent cycles.
Drip irrigation, spray conversion and smart controllers
New drip zones. Each zone has its own valve, pressure regulator, filter and inline tubing sized to the plant spacing. Trees run on a separate zone from shrubs, and shrubs from ground cover, because they need different run times; mixing them on one valve is the most common reason one plant drowns while its neighbor dies of thirst. A weather-based controller adjusts each zone by season and skips cycles after rain.
Converting spray to drip. An existing spray zone can usually be converted by swapping the heads for drip fittings or capping the risers and running new tubing from the valve; the valves, wiring and controller stay. It is often the cheapest change that qualifies a yard for a rebate, since the rules do not allow overhead spray in the finished project. Spray heads within a couple of feet of a slab edge also keep the base wet, which is how edge pavers settle and how mineral haze ends up on the surface; when we build the pavers or concrete, we convert those heads.
Lighting, drainage and trees near hardscape
Low-voltage lighting. Path lights, uplights and wall washes run on a 12-volt transformer plugged into a GFCI outlet. The wire runs in conduit under any hardscape it crosses, which is why the sleeves go in first. The transformer, outlet and any new circuit are handled by our licensed electrician under an outdoor electrical permit; see electrical.
Drainage. Bed drains, downspouts and patio drains should reach one outlet with enough fall to move water; a yard that drains the patio but holds water in the beds has solved half the problem.
Trees and slabs. Mature roots are the most common cause of lifted pavers and cracked slabs in older Southern California neighborhoods. On new plantings we keep large trees away from slabs and footings and install root barrier where one must be close. On existing trees we coordinate root pruning with an arborist, because the wrong cut kills the tree or makes it unstable. Ficus, liquidambar and many pines are the usual offenders; if one is within reach of the patio, pavers are the right call because they can be lifted and reset.
Lawn removal and the turf rebate, honestly
The rebate is real money, but not the free landscaping it is sometimes sold as. What we can verify today:
- In the City of Los Angeles, LADWP’s residential Turf Replacement Rebate pays five dollars per square foot of lawn converted, for projects between 250 and 5,000 square feet, so up to twenty-five thousand dollars. Applications go through the SoCal WaterSmart website, and pre-approval is required before any grass is removed.
- The regional SoCal WaterSmart program, which most other water agencies in our service area use, pays a base of two dollars per square foot up to 5,000 square feet per year; some member agencies add to that.
- Qualifying projects need at least three plants per 100 square feet, mulch around the plants and over bare soil, a feature that captures stormwater on site, and no overhead spray in the finished project. Drip, bubblers and rotating nozzles qualify.
- Synthetic turf is not allowed, impermeable hardscape does not count, and there is a 180-day window after approval to finish and submit the post-project application.
So a “gravel and three agaves” design does not qualify, and neither does a new patio in place of the lawn. A properly planted, mulched, drip-irrigated bed does, which is what we would build anyway. Programs change and agencies differ; we confirm the rules for your water provider and do not remove a blade of grass until the pre-approval is in hand. If you want a flat green play surface instead, see artificial turf.
Where we work
We landscape yards across Los Angeles County, including the San Fernando Valley, where heavy clay and summer heat decide the palette and the drainage first. In Orange County, coastal soils drain well and the marine layer eases irrigation, but HOA design review shapes the front yard. In Ventura County, the Conejo Valley’s rocky hillside soils and the wind through Simi Valley and Moorpark call for deep-rooted, staked plantings. In western Riverside County, around Murrieta, lots are larger and soils are often decomposed granite that drains too fast. In western San Bernardino County, in Ontario and Rancho Cucamonga, Santa Ana winds and alluvial soils mean windbreak trees and deep mulch earn their place. See service areas.
Timeline
A planted yard with drip and lighting takes one to three weeks on site once the hardscape is done: lawn removal and soil preparation first, mains and valves before the beds are shaped, lighting wire while the trenches are open, drip tubing after planting. Fall through early spring is the best time to plant natives here because winter rain does the establishment watering; July planting works, but a few plants will not make it.
What landscaping costs in Southern California
Planted areas are priced by the square foot installed, covering clearing, soil preparation, plants, mulch and drip; trees, zones and lighting are priced per item.
| Item | Typical installed cost |
|---|---|
| Simple planting: basic palette, mulch, drip | $6–$12 per sq ft |
| Designed drought-tolerant or native planting: larger plants, boulders, decomposed granite paths | $12–$20 per sq ft |
| High-end planting: specimen plants, mature trees, extensive rock | $20–$30+ per sq ft |
| 15-gallon tree, planted and staked | $150–$400 each |
| 24-inch box tree, planted and staked | $450–$1,000 each |
| New drip zone, or converting a spray zone to drip | $300–$1,200 per zone |
| Low-voltage light fixture, installed | $100–$350 per fixture |
| Outdoor electrical for the transformer circuit and outlets | $1,000–$3,500 |
These are typical Los Angeles budgeting estimates, not a price list or a quote. Your project can come in lower or higher depending on the house, the scope and the finishes; the only real number is a written proposal after a site visit.
Access and what is already there move the price more than the plant list: sod and clay spoil move by wheelbarrow when a Bobcat cannot reach the yard, and a dead lawn over compacted clay with old spray lines takes a day of cutting and capping before anything is planted. For the full budget picture, see the backyard remodel cost guide.
Frequently asked questions
Can you landscape a yard you did not build the hardscape for?
Yes. We regularly plant, irrigate and light yards where the patio and walkways already exist. The difference is that we are working around finished surfaces, so running a line under a slab means cutting or boring rather than dropping a sleeve into open base, and we will tell you on the site visit where that adds cost.
Do I need a permit for landscaping in Los Angeles?
Planting, mulch, drip irrigation and grading that does not change drainage patterns normally need no building permit. The exceptions are the regulated trades: outdoor electrical for transformers and outlets always needs a permit, new gas lines always do, and retaining walls over 4 feet or carrying a surcharge do. Thresholds vary by city, and we confirm the rules for your address.
How much water does a drought-tolerant yard actually use?
Far less than a lawn, but not zero in the first year. New plants, even natives, need regular drip until their roots reach beyond the planting hole, usually one to two summers. After that, a well-chosen Valley palette might run drip once a week or less in summer and rarely in winter, and a weather-based controller cuts run times as the plants need less.
Will the turf rebate cover the whole cost of replacing my lawn?
Usually not. At five dollars per square foot from LADWP, a 1,000 square foot lawn earns up to five thousand dollars, and a properly planted, mulched and drip-irrigated bed usually costs more than that per square foot to install. The rebate is a meaningful offset, not a free yard. It also requires pre-approval, three plants per 100 square feet, mulch, a stormwater feature and no spray heads, so the design has to be built to qualify.
Can I keep some lawn and still get a rebate on the rest?
Yes, as long as the rebated area itself meets the rules. The rebate is paid on the square footage actually converted, so a yard that keeps a small lawn or turf panel for kids and converts the rest can qualify for the converted part. The kept lawn cannot sit inside the rebated area, and that area cannot have overhead spray. We measure and document it for the application.
What happens to my existing sprinkler system?
Most of it stays. The valves, wiring and mains are usually reusable. Spray heads in beds are converted to drip or capped, zones over removed lawn are repurposed, and the controller is replaced with a weather-based one if it cannot run drip schedules. Where the pipe is old galvanized or the valves leak, we will say so and price it separately.
If you want the planting, irrigation and lighting designed with the hardscape rather than after it, contact us for a free site visit. We check the soil, sun, irrigation and drainage, and send a written proposal within 48 hours.