“Home-owning” isn’t a static situation, but wildly fluid. In my case, literally fluid. Just when you sit down to enjoy a cuppa coffee, a septic pump blows or a pipe bursts. Every day with no breakage is a winner!
Enjoying my coffee on Tuesday morning while thinking about possibilities for the front yard, the perfect visitor knocked. The Landscape Architect arrived to give an estimate right on time for his pre-planned visit.
Now, some things should be obvious. Unless you own a mansion in the Hills of Beverly, the skills of a Landscape Architect might be a bit much. In my town, this is certainly true. As houses sell in my little neighborhood, young families move in. Busy young families, dreams overflowing, don’t have time to fret over yardwork. Face it. Keeping a landscaped area looking beautiful is hard work. Slowly, yards around me are reverting back to a natural state of weeds and sagebrush.
Retired, with nothing to do but garden, the elders of the neighborhood continue to weed, mow, fertilize, clip, chop, trim, and dig. My front yard was overgrown with junipers. Being difficult to even see the front door, they were removed. Everything lays in an arrested state of decay, awaiting the execution of a plan.
Years ago, a beautiful lawn grew in the front yard. Sprinkler pipe lay empty under the area, waiting for the day lawn will again grow. Surely possible. Stenotaphrum secundatum, Poa pratensis, or Cynodon dactylon, all deeply rich in color, would contrast beautifully against the harsh desert landscape and Nevada’s big blue sky. However, horses love lush lawn. Horses poop. A lot. My water consumption is high enough already. One solution, although not cheap, would be Engineered Poaceae. In other words, fake lawn.
These days, artificial turf has come a very long way. A variety of blades in various stages of growth and decay add to the illusion. After careful investigation, this product sells for $61 a foot, or more. Installation requires proper preparation. A 15′ x 40′ patch of green in front of Winterpast would add a kick to the neighborhood, which suffers from bland-itis with yard after yard of rock. Brown rock. White rock. Grey rock. Big or little. Rough or smooth. Any kind of rock you can imagine lines my street from East to West. I want green. Year round.
The architect, clipboard in hand, followed me from want to wish to dream. Explaining little things I’d like completed, his pencil flew across the page. It was quite a list when we were finished. Finally having a vision, he promised a prepared estimate within hours. Leaving me with a picture in my head and a song in my heart, I returned inside to finish my coffee wondering how much this would set me back
“$5,000 – $8,000 was my guess and as stickin’ to it.
Now, there was no way I’d pay that much. Simply eliminating tasks one by one, I’d trim that bill down to a respectable amount not a penny over $5,000. Green is the new Happy! Returning to the gardens of Winterpast, I continued assembling the new fountain.
Later that day, I received a phone call from the Landscaping Engineer. The estimate was complete and ready for e-mail consideration. I understood once it arrived. They couldn’t bear to hear the uproariously laughter that followed. Clearly, my yard would remain lost in the sea of rock that is my street. No lush green carpet of plastic would replace the perfectly great white rock (current cost — $0) covering the formally lawn-covered yard.
$21,000.”
Autumn is a great time to play in the front yard. Tote that white rock, I can, while preparing the spot. $3,000 is the new budget. With some decomposed granite and my gardener’s help, that will work.
Note To Self—– Landscape Architects are for the Hills of Beverly. Not for the Beverly Hillbillies. Yee Haw! Have a wonderful day.