"Roughly speaking, how much of the flora is unable to grow on the West Coast?" Seems like it's usually more like what won't grow here? (Often with bad consequences, in the case of invasives.) For instance, my mother is endlessly frustrated by my interest in native plants (she is in New Mexico), as she says "You can grow ANYTHING there and you plant plain old Apricot Mallow???!" lol. Of course, I still have a lemon tree, orange tree, palm tree, tea tree, orchid tree, hibiscus, hydrangea, avocado etc....Full disclosure: I am a newbie and just got some actual dirt a year ago - but it has been amazing to learn about this amazing climate - which is Mediterranean btw. Often I wish there was a California version of every forum here - particularly veggies, since our planting times are totally different. Some books I like: Mediterranean Kitchen Garden: Growing Organic Fruit and Vegetables in a Hot, Dry Climate by Mariano Bueno, Pat Welsh's Southern California Gardening, and California Native Plants for the Garden by Carol Bornstein et al. The Sunset Bible is also on my shelf. The micro-climate is crucial - I am in East LA and have a totally different zone than you will in Santa Monica. One thing that I'll add to look into for native plants is the Theodore Payne Foundation which is local - it's really a neat non-profit nursery and educational resource.

I would recomend Uniframe Windows. If you are looking for windows that will go with at older home, they are perfect. They have the look of a tradiational wood window, but all the great benifits of vinyl. They not only meet the energy requirements for today but they meet the furture requirements for 2013. Below is some information that I posted under a different topic but might answer some questions for you. Hello, This is in response to alot of what I have read on this site. Here are the plain and simple truths about windows in general for just about everywhere in the United States. You need to ask yourself one simple question... Do you want to spend money on windows or do you want your windows to pay you? The real truth is that all dual pane windows are absoulete. The very best dual pane window on the market barely meets the Energy Star requirements. In 2013 all new construction windows are going to have to be triple pane. The dual pane window was patented in 1865. Do you need gas between the glass? FOR SURE! It IS the insulating barrier between the air temperature outside your home. A better question to ask yourself is... what is keeping that gas between the glass? The ONLY spacer system (spacer is what keeps the 2 or 3 panes of glass apart) that is designed to hold gas is the Intercept U-Channel spacer. **BEWARE** Any window made with a product titled "Super Spacer" is not designed to hold gas. It is a silcon foam rubber that applied with double sided sticky tape. Do you need to have insulated frames? Do you need to have insulated walls? Of course you do... it's standard building code to insulate house why not windows? It really is not expensive for a manufacutre to spray your typical hollow vinyl frames with an expanding insulating foam... why dont they? COST... they dont care how your windows perform as long as they meet the minimum energy requirements. Did you know that energy is going up at an average of 25% each year. That really means that your energy bills are doubling every 3 years. How many times does your energy bill have to double before you realize that your AC/HEAT is turning on 7-10 per hour! Why wouldnt you want to replace your windows with the most energy effcient window possible? You can save 50% on your energy bills... in writing. Dont you want your windows to be just as insulated as your walls? Triple pane with Kyrpton is R10 at the glass and R-23 at the frame. The truth is all dual pane windows are made EXACTLY the same... Ply Gem, Milgard, Simonton, Alin, Amerimax, Superior, Anderson, Xact... etc... need I keep going. All these windows provide the same insulating factors and roughly the same Air influtration stats. If you are really considering you windows with dual pane I would go for the cheapest thing that you can find becuase they are all sub-par. If you are looking to buy replacement vinyl windows and would like to know what the average homeowner is spending on replacement windows, or any other home improvement project check out... www.costvsvalue.com The average home owner on west coast is spending $12509 to have (10) 3' x 5' DUAL pane windows replaced. Price includes labor and removal. Thats $1250 per hole, thats about what you can expect from a quality company to have replacement windows installed. You could have a couple of guy work out of the back of thier truck do it for less but you WILL have bad results... If you pay peanuts you are going to get monkeys. Replacing windows is not a cheap project and homeowners should be aware that this a pricing purchase. I have seen windows got into homes that cost well over $150,000... Just for Marvin Wood... The idea is buy windows that are going to last a long time, a life time. I know way to much about the subject, but I can assure you that I do not work for penquin windows, nor do i work for Great Lakes windows. My Uniframe triple pane windows are the best INVESTMENT that I have ever made. (Please note... this was not spell checked nor prof read, my apologies if you cant understand my tying.)

MrsMortarmixer asked about beach house styles on the other thread--in the context of "what style house are you designing for." Beach house architectural styles can be anything really, depending on when they were built, the owner's taste, and how much money was invested. They all tend to be designed with plenty of ocean-facing windows to capture the view. Here's a smattering of Hawaiian beach homes, from modest to extravagant and from outrageously ethnic to minimalist modern. This photo of Kiholo Bay is courtesy of TripAdvisor

I concur with others who have noted that growing anything in pots on a rooftop in Los Angeles can be challenging. The relentless intensity of the sunshine is not something East Coasters are used to. Hollywood is a pretty warm area, too - not quite as hot as the Valley, but it is pretty far from the sea breezes and marine layer, and it is at the base of hills that trap a considerable amount of heat. Sunset Zone 24. And roofs can be the hottest and brightest spots of all. If she's in an apartment building with a flat roof, I'd check to make sure she's even allowed to have plant pots up there. I would hesitate to recommend she try to grow anything but succulents and cacti, if even those would survive. I lived in Hollywood for some years, and didn't have anywhere to garden but a bit of courtyard, so I had potted ponytail palms and Euphorbia trigona and things like that. A good garden center closest to her would probably be Anawalt Lumber, which is a very good local home improvement store with a good nursery section. They're usually pretty solid on advice. http://www.anawaltlumber.com/ I also used to be quite fond of Sunset Garden Center, in Silverlake. http://www.sunsetblvdnursery.com/about.html For cacti and succulents, she can drive out to a great specialty nursery, California Cactus Center in Pasadena. http://www.cactuscenter.com/ Rolling Greens in Culver City is a very nice spot for large containers at the high end of the market, but they are expensive and somewhat chi-chi - may not be what you're looking for. There is also a good cluster of Japanese-owned garden centers over on Sawtelle Blvd. in the West LA "Japantown" neighborhood. Good for big clay pots. I used to be able to find good big pots/containers at the Armstrong Garden Center on Wilshire in Santa Monica. Now I'm getting all sentimental about my former home...sniffle!