Tiny Homes & Tremendous Gardens

For the third straight year, the Santa Barbara Independent presents its annual Homes & Gardens special section, a roundup of profiles, advice, and insight into what makes our developed and cultivated landscapes thrive. This year’s edition looks at a tiny home built by high schoolers, the history of adobe construction, how to make your yard look like Lotusland, and much, much more.

• The Tiny Home Education Revolution: How Santa Barbara high schoolers are learning trades and constructing their futures.
• Santa Barbara’s Adobe Construction History: How mud came to be the cornerstone of early construction in California.
• Italian Pottery Outlet’s Ceramic Feast: State Street retailer of authentic Old World goods celebrates 35 years as a family business.
• How to Handle Your Runoff Sensibly: Rain gardens and infiltrators are new ways to keep rainwater on your property.
• Seven Tips for Drought-Wise Gardening: Landscaping veteran dishes wisdom for keeping your thirsty yard alive.
• The Evolution of Synthetic Grass: EcoLawn co-owner talks about today’s artificial turf.
• Make Your Garden Look Like Lotusland: Curator Paul Mills advises on how to copy Madame Ganna Walska’s epic vision.
• Santa Barbara Landscaping 101 with Margie Grace: An interview with the award-winning founder of Grace Design Associates.