California gardeners, nurseries struggle to adapt to drought

Wet weather kept Alberto Ortega from working most of last week — and he couldn't have been more pleased.

"This rain is a blessing I was beginning to think I'd never see," the gardener said.

In four decades of tending people's yards, this year has been Ortega's roughest: Clients put off landscaping projects, scaled back his duties or simply let their yards go altogether, costing him thousands of dollars.

As one of California's worst droughts continues, gardeners across the region have been faced with a choice: Become more water-savvy or risk being left behind.

Higher water rates and more municipal restrictions on usage are bound to force the entire industry to transform, said Bob Muir, spokesman for the Los Angeles Metropolitan Water District.

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