I almost cringe with guilt whenever I refer to the extra land our house sits on as "a yard," because it really is not a yard at all.
The front of our house is so overgrown with weeds, it hurts to look at it. When we moved in it was a total jungle.
The good news is that I seem to have narrowed down the number of species of weeds from about 10 to 2, with both of them being incredibly resilient. Nothing will grow as long as they cover the ground.
I avoid making eye contact with our neighbors because I'm so embarrassed by the front yard. It's my goal to have it looking yard-of-the-month good by December. I don't know if the neighbors know this, but I am too shy to tell them. Although I bet it is all in my head, I imagine that they feel hostile about the lack of progress on the front yard. Perhaps they swear at me under their breath for keeping their home values down.
(In our defense, the house was un-lived in for four years, with no yard care. Those weeds had a head start!)
THE BACK:
The back yard has been a rocky wasteland since we moved in. It's literally all rock, rubble and scree. Nothing grows there. It is desert. It is not a nice place. And without a pickup truck, a ton of resources, tropical vegetation know-how and extra manpower, nothing was going to get done.
So we hired a landscaper; and are doing a lot of the labor ourselves to make it affordable. He brings tools, equipment, resources, knowledge and his own manpower. Finally, I think we're getting somewhere.
I wish we could afford to have him do the front yard too.
On Friday we got mulch on the North side of our house. That will be our future melon patch. (And mulch is free, thank goodness).
In the to-be-grassed area we will be growing Tangelos, limes, avocados, and two palms worth of coconuts. We are debating whether or not to plant pineapples along the fenceline, or to put in wild flowers.
The vegetable garden will have loads of basil (I have so much already, and extra seeds to spare!), carrots, cucumbers, onions, lettuce, spinach, green beans, and tomatoes.
If any of you have suggestions about other fruits or vegetables that grow well in warm climates, let me know! I will try to find the seeds.
Hopefully after several more days work I will have a progress-in-pictures post.
The front of our house is so overgrown with weeds, it hurts to look at it. When we moved in it was a total jungle.
The good news is that I seem to have narrowed down the number of species of weeds from about 10 to 2, with both of them being incredibly resilient. Nothing will grow as long as they cover the ground.
I avoid making eye contact with our neighbors because I'm so embarrassed by the front yard. It's my goal to have it looking yard-of-the-month good by December. I don't know if the neighbors know this, but I am too shy to tell them. Although I bet it is all in my head, I imagine that they feel hostile about the lack of progress on the front yard. Perhaps they swear at me under their breath for keeping their home values down.
(In our defense, the house was un-lived in for four years, with no yard care. Those weeds had a head start!)
THE BACK:
The back yard has been a rocky wasteland since we moved in. It's literally all rock, rubble and scree. Nothing grows there. It is desert. It is not a nice place. And without a pickup truck, a ton of resources, tropical vegetation know-how and extra manpower, nothing was going to get done.
So we hired a landscaper; and are doing a lot of the labor ourselves to make it affordable. He brings tools, equipment, resources, knowledge and his own manpower. Finally, I think we're getting somewhere.
I wish we could afford to have him do the front yard too.
On Friday we got mulch on the North side of our house. That will be our future melon patch. (And mulch is free, thank goodness).
In the to-be-grassed area we will be growing Tangelos, limes, avocados, and two palms worth of coconuts. We are debating whether or not to plant pineapples along the fenceline, or to put in wild flowers.
The vegetable garden will have loads of basil (I have so much already, and extra seeds to spare!), carrots, cucumbers, onions, lettuce, spinach, green beans, and tomatoes.
If any of you have suggestions about other fruits or vegetables that grow well in warm climates, let me know! I will try to find the seeds.
Hopefully after several more days work I will have a progress-in-pictures post.
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