There is always a line of people at our farmstand wanting to buy the ' nopales. They can find them at the Mexican market-but the stuff we harvest is so much better quality, and so much cheaper.iThey'buy them by the box

-SANDY FROST, PROGRAM COORDINATOR AND FELLOW FARMER

Ignacio Castillo takes a break beside rows of bean plants.

VISIT The Hayward Community Gardens year-round farmstand at City Hall Plaza in Hayward, CA. $-1 Sat; 777BSt.

SUNSET DREAM GARDEN AWARDS

1 WINNER

Sustainability

ECO CHIC

Sustainabillty is fun in this Santa Barbara backyard, which has a hot tub and rock-lined firepit tucked behind the grassy "meadow," but uses 95 percent locally sourced or salvaged materials. The judges' take: "It says, 'Grab the marshmallows and meet me at the campfire.' "

DESIGN Maggie Grace, Grace Design Associates, Santa Barbara (gracedesign associates.com or 805/687-3563). Breezehouse by Blu Homes (bluhomes.com)

Why it won

REUSE OF 200 TONS OF STONE The sandstone takes on a cobblestone-y Euro feel as seating, walls, and borders.

DROUGHT-TOLERANT GRASSES These plants are low maintenance and eye-catching.

'THERE'S ENOUGH BUBBLY HERE TO FILL A SWIMMING POOL"

2 HONORABLE MENTION

Design details

LIGHTS AS ART

Anthony Exter placed these globe lights to suggest bubbles rising from the water - riffingoff a comment overheard at a party here in his client's Pasadena garden: "There's enough bubbly hereto Fill a swimming poo

DESIGN Anthony Exter Landscape Design, Los Angeles (anthpnyextercom or 323/665-9995

3 HONORABLE MENTION

Design details WELL-DESIGNED FIREPITS

Rugged and natural-looking, this sunken firepit on Lake Washington is hard edged and geometric on the patio side but gently curving on the beach part, where natural granite boulders pack its sides. Feathery grasses blend with the shoreline habitat beyond. A boulder-seat is just right for extra guests.

DESIGN Randy Allworth, Allworth Design, Seattle (ailwOrthdesign.com or 206/623-7396]

4 WINNER

Renovation

FIREPROOFED & LAWNLESS

Years after an Oakland firestorm ravaged their lot, the owners of this garden decided they wanted a yard to match their rebuilt modern home. So they opted for a patio of bluestone pavers, crushed rock, and low groundcovers, edged with a sinuous concrete seat wall - and contained fire burns in a custom firepit of Cor-ten steel.

DESIGN Mathew Henning 81 Heather Anderson, Henning-Anderson, Oakland (henning-anderson.com or 510/531-3095)

Why it won

MOD MATERIALS Crushed drain rock adds a contemporary edge to bluestone pavers.

GROUNDCOVERS Irish moss (pictured), creeping thyme, and chamomile soften the rock.

DIY A concrete fountain beside the path and a square firepit near the table are finishing touches, built by the owners.

5 WINNER

Outdoor entertaining

FRONT YARD LIVING

The judges were impressed that this family in Greenbrae, California, "created space where none existed before," turning a sloped front yard into a modern play den. Concrete planters are placed along the sidewalk, with a flrepit and raised patio inside. Phormiums and agate add screening, while not totally blocking out the street. "This garden could change the whole neighborhood," said one judge.

DESIGN Ive Haugeland, Shades of Green Landscape Architecture, Sausalito, CA (shadesojgreenla.com or 415/332-1485)

FRIENDLY HEDGE Phormium 'Firebird and P. tenax flank the Freestanding gate creating light screening

SLOPE CHANGERS Edged with concrete? the raised patio ana its planter-retaining wall level the yard and make it more livable.

NATIVE GRASSES. LIKE THE DISTANT HILLS, TURN GOLDEN IN FALL

6 WINNER

Regionality

THE WILD LOOK

"This garden has created a new nostalgia, not for Tuscany or Provence or some other Mediterranean place, but for true California," said the judges about this backyard in Paso Robles, California. The large native boulders - that form curved walls and are used as accents - blend the terrace with the landscape beyond. Planting native and Mediterranean grasses helps too.

DESIGN Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture, Los Osos, CA (www.jasdesigns.com or 805/528-2118]

7 WINNER

Small space

GEOMETRIC FLAIR

The tiny San Francisco backyard appears larger than its 1,000 square feet. Alternating bands of stone paving and pebbles give the ground rhythm and movement, while polished steel balls reflect light and clouds, adding the illusion of space. "It's low maintenance but high style - a garden to live in but not take care of," our judges said.

DESIGN Vera Gates, Arterra Landscape Architects, San Francisco (orterrailp.com or 415/861-3100]

Why it won

DIAGONALS Set at a 62o angle to the house, the courtyard provides the illusion of space

GARDEN AWARDS JUDGES Judy Kameon, Elysian Landscapes (tiysianlandscapes.com) Catherine Clemens, Clemens Si Associates (clemensandassociatcs.com) Joseph Huettl, Huettl Landscape Architecture /iucttlriesiflM.com) ': Kathleen N. Breniet, Sunset's garden editor; Julie Chai, associate garden editor; and Sharon Cohoon, senior garden writer

SEE MORE WINNING GARDENS: sunset.com/dreamgardens