Parents and Yardwork...

Waiting to buy

We moved into our house November 2009.  Z-Man was only 8 months old and just crawling and cruising and bruising.  It was a crazy time.  Our house is in a suburb subdivision.  The real estate ad stated "Low maintenance yard" and we were sold!

We were somehow thinking low maintenance meant NO maintenance.  It didn't matter in the winter months which in Seattle buys you until July.  Round about August we were the only yard with brown grass in the neighborhood.  We both grew up with families that let the grass go dormant during droughts.



One day a neighbor passed by and asked if we were letting it go to replace it with new sod.  uhhh no.  If I could get on my little soap box for a couple sentences here... Hello, we live in SEATTLE. You know?  Where we get 9-10 months of rain.  You want me to water? Ok I'm over it.

Mostly before but one heather is already removed

Sadly, we don't have green thumbs and Z-Man gets crazier by the day.  You and I know we can't use him as an excuse much longer though.  Worse, we can't be that house tucked in the middle of a bunch of other houses in the street.  No.  We are the house right in front of the mailboxes for everyone to judge see as they check their mail.  Complex?

Every day C tells me about another plant that's dying.  He usually adds the thought that maybe they are just ready to be replaced.  Hmmm maybe they need water?  Ideally we would replace everything with some lovely drought tolerant rocks/boulders but they are way expensive!  Maybe down the road...

Gone!  New tree in the back left

Last year, in the fall we removed some heathers that were dying and replaced them with grasses and a kaleidoscopic plant.  Lovely.  Doing well.  This summer we planted drawf Japanese Holly along the entryway of the house with some bark beneath.  Simple and sweet.  No pictures.  Sorry.

This fall we tackled the side yard by the dreaded mailboxes.  Harumph!  There's two dying heathers that were huge and quite the eyesore.  We replaced them with a Weeping Alaskan Cedar, a Sungold Cypress, 3 sedges, and two grasses.  I think.  It turned out really nice.  The cypress should get pretty full and the tree will get tall but stay thin.

Planted!

The big reveal!  Ta da!!  Not so exciting but I like it.  It works.  You can barely see the tree all skinny in the back.  Of course, most people don't plant in the fall right? (as we were told by another passing neighbor)  We figure anything to not have to water!  Hopefully Mother Nature will be kind this winter.