Front yard overhaul
Our front yard had been a lawn and brick lined planters with river rock as mulch. The aged sprinkler system required constant tweaking and never worked right. Two weeks after moving in, a not-so-professional sprinkler repairman infected the lawn with fungus from his tools. It never recovered. Given that we live in a water-scarce, semi-desert area, we did not want to replace the lawn with more water-hungry grass. Also, we could not stand the thought of using all the harmful chemicals required to make a lawn look good. We decided on a two phased upgrade. Phase One - demolish the lawn, planters, concrete walkway, and old sprinkler lines; install a serpentine retaining wall toward the sidewalk; run new drip irrigation lines (one for trees and large shrubs and one for all other plants); cover with a water and air permeable weed barrier and two tones of gravel; and install a flagstone walkway to the gate. Phase Two (next spring) - begin planting xeric (water thrifty) plants.
Apr 10, 2009
Photos: 57
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