A flourishing coastal garden surrounds the Santa Monica Conservancy’s Preservation Resource Center at the Shotgun House. Replacing part of a parking lot, this petite paradise of native foliage thrives in sandy soils and salty sea air, come drought or El Nino.
Home and garden now offer Santa Monica residents examples of architectural conservation and authentic ocean-friendly gardening.
The garden provides several benefits to the Center and nearby community. It cools the space around the building and offers a visual reprieve between the paved, commercial area and a residential community. The garden serves as a model for the kind of lush, leafy, low-water landscape that loves life at the beach.
The coastal garden at the Shotgun House protects Santa Monica’s independent groundwater table, the ocean, and the health of surfers and swimmers. It gives rainwater and runoff a place to permeate and be cleansed by the soil. Because the native plants thrive in Santa Monica’s weather and soils, the garden is low maintenance and contributes no toxic chemical fertilizers or pesticides to the water leaving the site – a great gift to everyone!
Shotgun House Coastal Garden 