Here’s the ‘before’
picture of our lawn:
Today, I’m showing you the war-zone that is our front
yard with the grass sliced off:
Talk
about the blank page, the table rasa…whatever you want to call a front yard
that won’t grow a blade of the green stuff, ever again. And I’m from the Midwest, where acres of
grass and a riding lawn mower to cut it, are common.
But no more. In California, we have to water lawns to keep
them green, wasting precious water and costing lots of money. Drought tolerant plants, here we come! And because homeowners can spend too much on
these endeavors (much more than they’ll ever get back when they sell their
home), I’ve decided to work with a local gardener instead of employing an
expensive architect/company. One
neighbor spent $150,000 on his front/back yard redo. I’m going to try to keep costs to around
$30.000. Wish me luck!
Now, I’ve seen my share
of blank pages before, but they don’t scare me like this front lawn
project. Plus, in a novel, we try to
come up with unique settings, plots and characters, so we can make the story
our own. We’re told not to guess what
our readers want; instead, to write the novel of our heart. Not so with landscaping. I have to design a front-yard plan offering
curb appeal to ‘enhance’ our neighborhood vibe, and entice prospective
buyers. That’s a lot of stress! A good thing: samples of front yard plans
(Xeriscaping) abound. I can’t ‘copy’ someone
else’s novel, but I can reproduce every aspect of someone else’s
landscaping. The degree of ‘sharing’ in
the yard redo business is phenomenal.
I’ve gathered pictures
that please me on my Landscaping Pinterest. https://www.pinterest.com/rolynna/rolynns-landscaping/
We have a California Ranch style home, so I’m going for palms, yucca,
agave, and succulents. Some varieties of
these plants are not frost tolerant, and though we rarely have freezes here, I
still have to make sure all my plants can handle frost/freezing temperatures.
My writing has suffered
because of this project, yet I’m exercising my imagination with every step of
the project. And who knows, maybe my
next mystery could center on a landscape architect. Stay tuned as I slog through this
process...and let me know how/if you have handled a front yard makeover!
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