The palm savannah meadows of Tongva Park.

Tongva Park

Santa Monica, CA

Project Overview

We collaborated with James Corner Field Operations as a horticultural expert to infuse a sense of magic in this wide open public space.

The goal of the project was to bring a unique selection of plants not typically seen in civic landscapes with a strong emphasis on native species. We constructed a foundation of native grasses that primarily bloomed in the spring and supplemented the garden with other well-behaved Mediterranean plants that add depth and color throughout the year. This combination ensured a dynamic, year-round display while honoring regional ecology. The result is a carefully crafted public space and one of the best showcases of our expert plantsmanship.

Consulting Services  

Services

Horticultural Consulting

Design Consulting

Collaborators

James Corner Field Operations, Landscape Architect

Featured Plants

Festuca mairei Pennisetum spathiolatum Falkia repens

Carex divulsa

Tap any image for additional plant information.
Clumping grasses are given room to magnify their glorious stature. Foundation of native carex pansa with taller flowering grasses. Gaura lindheimeri is finished blooming, blending with its grassy stems. Also featured is Festuca mairei, Pennesitum setaceum, Muhlenbergia lindheimeri, and Falkia repens.
The park overlooks have great views of the pacific ocean. The grass below is Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition' accented with aloes and agaves.
Our go-to combination of Festuca mairei and Pennisetum spathiolatum used throughout the park. These two grasses are very similar and make good companions with similar colors and textures, avoiding a messy look.
Pennisetum spathiolatum catching the wind in a nice transparent view. The grass has wonderful low foliage but the flower spikes up to 4 feet, mirroring the wind sculpture in the background.

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Model of the park made by the architects of James Corner Field Operations to discuss human scale and to study the topography of the site.
Review of the garden shortly after its initial plantings in front of city hall. Post installation maintenance is critical to a graden’s success.
Plants laid out in the garden shortly before installation. Creating gardens at this scale makes it difficult to get an instant effect as you need to give the plants room to grow. Overplanting is a common mistake for inexperienced gardeners.
Palms and grasses make a fantastic combination that’s all about texture. In the natural world, there are only a handful of these palm savannahs: Madagascar, Australia, etc.
Many agaves are native to semi-arid grasslands and are crucial components of some of our most resilient grass-based gardens.
Festuca mairei rests below the blooming Buganvilias. Above is Muhlenbergia rigens & M. capillaris. Combining flowering plants with grasses creates a dramatic effect as grasses are neutral and flowers take central stage. Simplicity is the key to success.
Restios (the Restionaceae family) are a group of drought-tolerant plants that also don't mind being in or near water. Their tremendous adaptability makes them a good candidate for public plantings. Here, they artfully combine with the stonework and picks up the colors of the grasses and the sycamore trees.
Water lilies sp. have flowering moments that add subtle color to the landscape.
Plumeria trees are adaptable to frost free zones and have fragrant flowers. Sedges make up the dark green groundcover on the left, Festuca mairei on the right.
In the fall, purple asters bloom as seen here. The bronzy foliage of Ajuga bugleweed in the background is accented by blue flowers in the spring.
Close up of an aster. This one is particularly long blooming and suited to california. Every state has its own fabulous Aster. Great pollinator plants.
Restios (Thamnochortus insignis) again.
As the space narrows down, narrow plantings of Carex pansa are used to stay naturally small and reduce maintenance. The white blooming fall bulbs of Zephyranthes candida and Milla biflora blend neatly into the carex pansa with their evergreen grass-like foliage.
Under the Hollywood Twisted Juniper tree, fall blooming Asters and an assortment of purple-blue Agapanthus flowers provide year-round color.
Agaves rise through soft masses of Pennisetum spathiolatum and Pennisetum massaicum, blending bold form with fine texture.
Pink and orange Alstroemerias and Aeonium succulents in a bed of Pennisetum spathiolatum.
More Alstroemerias with tall native Salvias in the background.
A combination of Pennisetum spathiolatum, Festuca mairei, and various muhlys.
This fabulous combination of Canna Lilies is a celebration of well adapted flowers for a mediterranean climate.
Asters with Carex divulsa as a dark green understory in the children's garden. Plants need to be resilient to survive children’s play.
More Alstroemerias, Pennisetum spathiolatum, Carex divulsa, and Muhlenbergia rigens with a blast of agaves.
Grasses with low foliage make a good median strip planting because they don’t obscure oncoming traffic or pedestrians.
Mixed grasses Muhlenbergia rigens, Pennisetum spathiolatum, Muhlenbergia capillaris. The sleeper in this photo is the blue-grey leaved Squill with blooms that emerge as towering white rocketship flowers in the fall.

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