By Sharon Cohoon, Sunset senior garden writer

The mandate to cut back on our use of water in the landscape should be considered an opportunity rather than a hardship, says Sherri Aker, and I agree with her.  Drought-tolerant gardens aren't just more responsible, they're more interesting, as the four examples shown below prove.  But we're human and lazy and inertia keeps us from making the switch.  Now necessity will motivate us.

These four examples are from the recent Mar Vista Green Garden Tour.  Sherri Aker, an active member of the Mar Vista Community Council's Green Committee, was one of the organizers of that tour.  If you missed the tour, you can see the gardens on-line at the Council's website, again thanks to Aker's efforts.  There's a column with the addresses of all the gardens on the far right.  Click on any address and photos and descriptions pop up.

For fourteen more inspiring examples, see our Lose the Lawn story.

Here's another motivator.  Many water districts will pay for part of your cost for making the switch to a more drought-tolerant garden.  Here's a list of water rebates around the West.