From Hollywood to Your Backyard: Sustainable DIY Landscaping Secrets with Nicholas Walker
Have you ever pulled up to a friend’s house, looked at their front yard, and thought, OMG, what is going on here? Or maybe you’re the one getting friendly nudges from your family to finally tidy up your overgrown lawn.
We’ve all been there. But here’s the good news: you don’t need a Hollywood budget or a team of experts to achieve stunning curb appeal.
In a classic episode of the It’s Your Break podcast, host Jonathan Mertz sat down with award-winning “landscaper to the stars” Nicholas Walker (whose resume includes designing for Elizabeth Taylor and working on historical Frank Lloyd Wright properties). Nicholas shared some of his most brilliant, budget-friendly, and sustainable DIY gardening secrets.
Whether you have a sprawling backyard or a small garden patch, here are five game-changing lessons you can put into practice today to transform your outdoor space.
1. Ditch the “Bad Salad” (The Power of the Garden Edit)
When many homeowners want to improve their yard, their first instinct is to head to the local nursery and buy more plants. According to Nicholas, this is exactly how yards get cluttered—a phenomenon he calls “bad saladness.”
“Design begins in removals and editing. It’s about taking out visual noise and simplifying.” — Nicholas Walker
Before you buy anything new, start by editing. Many yards already have fantastic plant material; it’s just in the wrong place.
- Expose the bones: Look for the natural, inherent structure (the “bones”) of your garden.
- Establish a visual through-line: Edit out overgrown clutter to create clean lines and focal points that naturally lead the eye to a beautiful destination, like a flower bed or a pathway.
- Rearrange on a budget: Nicholas actually started his landscaping career during an actor’s strike by doing “curb appeal edits” for real estate listings on tiny budgets of $500 and $1,500. Just by moving existing plants around and clean-editing the space, both houses sold within a month!
2. Stop Spreading Weeds: The Lawnmower Habit You’re Missing
Are dandelions and crabgrass taking over your pristine lawn? The culprit might actually be your lawnmower.
When neighborhood “mow-and-blow” crews (or even you) mow a lawn, the mower deck picks up weed seeds. These seeds stick to the damp undercarriage of the deck. Over the next week, those seeds dry out and become perfectly ripe for sowing. The next time you start up the mower, you are essentially acting as a mechanical seed spreader, blowing crabgrass and dandelion seeds all over your fresh grass!
The Pro Fix: Treat your lawnmower like your teeth. Make a regular habit of flipping your mower over (safely!) and thoroughly washing out the debris from the inside of the deck. This simple step stops the weed cycle right in its tracks.
3. “Mulch, Mulch, Mulch” and Master Your Compost
If you want to eliminate your weeding chores entirely while feeding your soil for free, Nicholas has a simple formula: Mulch, compost, and repeat.
- Insulate with Mulch: Placing a thick layer of mulch on your planter beds does three things: it insulates the soil, stops erosion, and prevents airborne weed seeds from taking root. If you have fallen tree branches or dead twigs, you can rent a chipper for an afternoon to create your own high-quality mulch for free!
- The Golden Rule of Kitchen Composting: You can easily turn your daily kitchen waste (egg shells, coffee grounds, and sour vegetables) into premium-grade fertilizer.
- Keep it Vegetarian: When adding manure to your compost pile, only use vegetarian animal waste (like horse, goat, rabbit, or chicken manure). Never use waste from cats or dogs, as it is unsafe for composting.
4. Double-Down on Recycling: Epsom Salt Baths & Greywater
Did you know that taking a relaxing soak after a long day of yard work can actually help your garden grow?
Nicholas is a major advocate for residential water recycling. If you love a warm Epsom salt bath to soothe your sore muscles, don’t let that water go down the drain! According to Nicholas, Epsom salt (acting as ammonium sulfate) is the perfect fertilizer for your plants. By redirecting your bathwater to your garden, you can feed your trees and help them flourish.
If you want to go a step further, look into greywater recycling. By switching to phosphate-free soaps and detergents, you can safely redirect your household wash water straight to your trees and shrubs, conserving water and saving money on your utility bills.
5. Embrace the Three Rs: Recycle, Repurpose, Reuse
Sustainable landscaping is all about seeing the value in what others throw away. Nicholas shared two fantastic real-life examples of how he salvaged materials to create high-end garden features:
- The Broken Concrete Retaining Wall: Instead of letting a client pay to dump broken concrete from a backyard renovation into a landfill, Nicholas hauled the concrete blocks home and stacked them to build a gorgeous, rustic retaining wall and garden pathway.
- The Redwood Shading Arbor: When a construction crew left heavy 6×6 redwood timber posts lying around a job site, Nicholas rescued them. Because redwood is naturally resistant to termites, he repurposed those massive posts to build a stunning backyard shading arbor for his kids.
The Jardan Legacy: Gold Medal Design on a $6,000 Budget
To prove that green, sustainable design doesn’t require deep pockets, Nicholas worked alongside supermodel-turned-entrepreneur Kathy Ireland to launch Jardan, their joint home and garden brand.
Back in 2001, long before “going green” was trendy, Kathy challenged Nicholas to launch the brand at the prestigious San Francisco Flower and Garden Show on a tiny $6,000 budget.
They found themselves set up right next to a massive, traditional exhibitor who had spent $300,000 on an authentic Italian reflecting pond, imported Italian limestone, and 60-year-old olive trees!
While traditionalists sneered at Jardan’s modest footprint, Nicholas got creative. He brought in four tons of tumbled, recycled glass and filled the space with family-friendly, drought-tolerant succulents. Because succulents show stress by producing deeper, more vibrant colors, the display looked absolutely stunning.
The result? The judges fell in love with their sustainable, out-of-the-box vision and awarded Jardan the prestigious Gold Medal!
Take a Break and Get Growing!
Great landscaping isn’t about how much money you spend—it’s about how creatively you look at the space and materials you already have. By editing out the noise, keeping your mower clean, mulching, and finding clever ways to repurpose materials, you can craft a yard that is both beautiful and environmentally friendly.
So, grab a cold drink, step outside, and start looking for the “bones” of your garden!
Want to hear the full interview and get more incredible green living tips? Subscribe and Follow the It’s Your Break podcast on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts so you never miss a classic revisit or an upcoming episode.