(photo courtesy of Julie Stromberg)

The Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council will host its third annual Water Wise Garden Tour on Saturday, June 22, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Tour participants will meet at L.A. High Memorial Park, 4625 W. Olympic Blvd. Attendees will receive maps of the gardens at the meeting point for the free, self-guided tour.

The Water Wise Garden Tour will showcase gardens in the historic Greater Wilshire neighborhoods of Windsor Square and Ridgewood Wilton. All sites were nominated by Greater Wilshire residents, and reviewed and selected by Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council Sustainability Committee members.

One of the gardens on the tour was created as part of a remodel to upgrade a classic 1922 home to LEED platinum standards. A lawn was converted into a landscape featuring California native plants. The garden also uses a drip irrigation system that recharges the water table, and it provides a neighborhood-friendly environment. An edible garden was placed near a sidewalk to create a place to start conversations, meet neighbors and share freshly-picked vegetables. The property’s back yard was designed around a pineapple guava tree that is 50-plus years old.

For information, call Julie Stromberg, chair of the GWNC Sustainability Committee, at (323)348-8709, or email sustainability@greaterwilshire.org.