Alyce of At Home With Books is the originator of this weekly event. Feel free to post any photos that you or your family members have taken and then go over to her blog and add your link.
Today, I'm going to share a few pictures of our front yard, after it was landscaped. We really wanted to do something that would require little water and little maintenance, i.e. xeriscaping. Our friend helped us with planning and implementation. He did all the work, and I think it turned out very well. It took quite some time as we were hampered by weather and water restrictions. I told him my vision was Southwest - as in Arizona. We also wanted plants that would not be "tasty" for the deer. We did not put in a full irrigation system, but there is a drip system in the beds closest to the house. We had planned to have grass grown from seed, but after months of no rain and then the restriction of no outside watering at all, we were experiencing erosion of our "good" dirt when it finally did rain. Our lot slopes pretty dramatically and so we had some grass put in - a type known as zoysia. This is just the front yard. The back yard will be a project for later this spring and summer.
I loved seeing these photos, Kay. Your new garden is gorgeous! I can now picture where you live very nicely. Thanks so much for sharing them with us.
ReplyDeleteYou sure have a big front yard! It looks great- such a sensible idea with your drought tolerant plantings.
ReplyDeleteYour garden looks so dramatic - I love seeing your photos. So different from our garden, which currently is quite waterlogged - the grass squelches!
ReplyDeleteI love green grass, but this looks lovely and dramatic. Well done.
ReplyDeleteOh wow. I love all that stone work. So pretty!
ReplyDeleteVery pretty, Kay, and SO sensible. This need for grass that needs constant watering is ridiculous. If my hoa would allow it, I'd cover the front yard with river rock. Ha ha. Thanks for sharing, I love seeing your photos.
ReplyDeleteVery good plan, and so gorgeous! I personally like the yards that don't require much watering...and a drip system sounds perfect. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHere's MY SATURDAY SNAPSHOT - and here’s
MY WEBSITE
I love it and also the fact that you planned it according to the weather out there!!
ReplyDeleteWow, it looks gorgeous! Does the rain wash the rocks away?
ReplyDeleteThis looks very nice. We don't worry about deer so much as rabbits and javelinas. The javvies will tear up anything depending on their "mood" but they especially love to pull up anything new. Drives me crazy!!!
ReplyDeleteVery nice and responsible (xeroscaping) as well. I've slowly been replacing landscaping plants in my yard with more drought resistant varieties.
ReplyDeleteYour garden is beautiful, Kay, and xeriscaping makes so much sense!
ReplyDeleteKathy, no, the rocks do not wash away. They are heavy enough. The dry creeks are there to be "dry" in between rains and to channel the water where we want it to go when we do have hard downpours. It took a while to tweak things. Our guy had to consider after each rain and then adjust his plan. It was kind of like designing a painting or a quilt.
ReplyDeleteThat is so pretty! I would love to have something with minimal upkeep. We've talked about getting a smaller yard if/when we move in the future.
ReplyDeleteI like this... a lot! It makes perfect sense to use native landscaping and yours is so attractive.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the process of removing grass from my front yard. I live in the land of lawns here but I don't care. Prairie grass, wildflowers, wood chips, river rocks and barrels of flowers have been finding their way to my landscape.
I love your garden and it just makes sense not wasting water.
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by!!
Wow! It's beautiful. I can picture lots of time spent there (or at least gazing when it's too hot). I need a friend like yours for our yard :)
ReplyDeleteLove these pictures - what a gorgeous yard!
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous yard!
ReplyDeleteThat's really gorgeous! So much more appealing than one of those putting-green lawns that you know are full of chemicals and take too much water. Very smart planning.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful!! I could sit out there and read and gaze at the landscape for hours!
ReplyDeleteI love your garden :D So pretty
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the photos.
ReplyDeleteAnn
Beautiful! There's a very zen-like quality to it.
ReplyDeleteVery nice! And it looks SO easy to take care of.
ReplyDeleteWow! That looks great. We still have lots of landscaping to do in our yard, so I might be "borrowing" some of your ideas. ;)
ReplyDeleteYour yard is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteWe also have had to deal with water restrictions. My brother had a wonderful idea.
After lopping off the top of a pineapple, he rooted it and then planted it in a pot. He was able to water it, since it is FOOD! It made a beautiful potted plant, and we enjoyed the most delicious yellow pineapple! (It makes the fruit the following year.)
That is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteIt's beautiful and I can't wait to see what the back looks like (when you're done).
ReplyDeleteI'm worried with this mild winter we're having. Even though it feels more typical of Texas/Dallas than the past few winters, I can't help but be scared that it will mean another hot and dry summer. Wish we could get more rain for our lakes/resevoirs to catch up!
Hope you're having a beautiful weekend, Kay.
I think it is wonderful that you've done this. I love the idea of growing what is right for one's area. And it looks so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThat xeriscape looks very dramatic. I love it. Here's Mine
ReplyDeleteWow, your home rocks! (no pun intended) Gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming by.
~Naila Moon
http://imaphotographicgenius.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-daughter-and-lovesaturday-posting.html#comment-form
Marvelous!! And so sensible/responsible/green. ;) It looks very low-maintenance, without looking sterile and uninviting. No weeding to speak of, right?
ReplyDeleteI've seen zoysia used here in our neighborhood and it seems to do quite well. Oh, how I'd love to have a garden/yard make-over!