For awhile now, it's been known that many design-oriented citizens will peruse a highly neglected area near the on/off ramps of L.A.

Their mission: to pull out debris and install trees indigenous to the southern California region.

Outcome: beautifying L.A. and its otherwise horrid landscape as it reflects trash and neglect.

An informal creed is to make the place you live design-worthy with little to no cost, and to do so anonymously.

That has been my posture while living here. Little by little, neighbors have noticed me digging, planting, watering, and paying attention to our immediate surroundings.

I have met up with very generous neighbors, volunteering money to replace hideous plants with those drought-tolerant, attractive, and reasonably priced.

Through contributions, I've purchased mineral infused bark chips, several fountain grasses, elephant ears, and rhizomes (plants that develop a bulb system laterally).

While unemployed, I've been the unofficial property caretaker.

For me, it isn't about getting paid, but working toward making this place beautiful, sustainable, and easy to maintain.

My parents ran a very successful printing business, where my eye was trained by Dutch designers. Their aesthetic was clean and simple... very Zen in some ways.

So, I'm heading outside to plant some ficus replens and English ivy around existing bushes that look bald right now.

My xeriscaping is working out to be well received and for the fountain grasses that people adopted, well, they are thriving very well!