28 grass-free landscapes

Olive trees frame a stone-lined courtyard in Atwater Village. Before and after photos here.

David Pixley tends to his front garden in Burbank. He has been cultivating the drought-tolerant garden for years with cuttings from the Huntington and other places. It is a wild and crazy mix of things -- succulents, tropicals and more. Read the full story here.

A selection of California native and some non-native, drought-tolerant plants create a warm welcome in Manhattan Beach. See the before and after photos here.

Native plants, crushed gravel and recycled concrete in this Brentwood garden create a comfortable oasis for birds and butterflies. More photos here.

Peggy Casey and Erik Hillard’s Altadena garden is situated on nearly 3/4 of an acre and features drop-dead gorgeous gardens in both the front and the back. See more photos here.

Landscape designer Tony Exter transformed this Los Feliz front yard with aloes, agaves, gravel pathways and dwarf olive hedges. More photos here.

Linda Glaser, pictured, removed her 3,000-square-foot front yard lawn and put in native and California-friendly plants, edibles, a bioswale, and other water capture features. Full story here.

Julie Burleigh has created a sanctuary surrounding the West Adams home she shares with her partner, photographer Catherine Opie, and their son. More photos here.

This home in Mar Vista is framed by edibles and drought-tolerant plants.

Low-water California native wildflowers and plants, a decomposed granite path and a gabion made of basketed rocks, frames Andreas Hessing’s home in Altadena. Read more about the garden here.

A Long Beach couple transformed their front landscape into a drought-tolerant work of art that includes bold, graphic, circles of rock and artificial grass. Read the full story here.

Garden designer Mimi Kahn installed a low-mow festuca rubra (creeping red fescue) because this Santa Monica family wanted to avoid unnecessary watering and noisy lawn mowers. More photos here.

A Laguna Beach garden is filled with drought-tolerant and fire-resistant plants designed to further the Mexican feel of the home. Full story here.

In Sierra Madre, artificial turf and concrete pavers create a whimsical checkerboard pattern. Full story here.

Square cement pavers and a concrete fountain that doubles as a bench reside in this Venice garden created by Naomi Sanders. See the full story here.