From berry farms to a garden city
Gardena was named for its productive farmland, once known for strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, and incorporated in 1930. After World War II, new tract neighborhoods filled in the farmland, and Gardena became one of the centers of the Japanese American community in Southern California.
Post-war tract homes
Many Gardena homes are single-story stucco houses from the 1940s to 1960s with wood fascia, eaves and window trim. Decades of sun dry out that wood, so scraping, wood repair and priming are often the most important parts of the job.
Inland sun, not salt air
Gardena sits inland from the coast, so homes deal less with salt spray and more with steady sun and heat. Color and sheen choices, plus UV-resistant coatings on south and west walls, help a repaint hold its color longer.