Sustainable Storybook Garden

It's easy to believe in storybook creatures in this Universal Studios adjacent neighborhood! Homes designed for studio employees evoke wonder. While most wear ho-hum lawns, the Sustainable Storybook Garden offers ample play space for elves, gnomes, and other pollinators. Watch for those with wings dancing through this Certified Wildlife Habitat. In spring, they alight upon bright blue foothill penstemon and candy-pink western redbud blooms, only to be distracted by wands of white sage and wildflowers. Travel an original brick and stone walk or gravel paths to meet dragons (aka western fence lizards), who rustle the deer grass cloaking the magic of two bioswales that draw and sink stormwater. Notice the trickle of water and the delightful crunch of gravel on the way to the back garden. There, bold and dynamic container gardens punctuate and define a space that is both drive and extended patio. Valley-indigenous foliage, including forage-worthy coffeeberry, toyon, and Catalina cherry wrap and shade a cozy conversation circle of Adirondack chairs. Engaging Dustin Gimbel sculptures draw eyes up, while rare native irises offer ankle-height hiding space for Mr. Toad and other creatures… who may just turn to stone if you catch them eavesdropping!

This garden's estimated size is 1,600 sq. feet.

Open Days 2024:  Sunday, April 28
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.