Dave's DIY Conversion

"In 2001 when we bought this home, there was no landscaping in the front yard. There was a Spruce tree blocking the large front window (facing Sanders Street), the large Green Ash tree that still stands, and no other plants. The entire front yard was just grass, so it was quite monotonous, and would require a lot of water to keep it 'green'".

"I removed the Spruce within the first year of living here because it was completely out of place. I decided to leave a grassy area under the Green Ash, because it seemed to stay green (deeply shaded) and provide some cooling effect from the direct summer sun, even without much water applied."

"I manually removed the sod and took it to the 'green pile' (yard waste) at the Transfer Station. Then I had topsoil hauled in, and distributed it by wheelbarrow. On top of the soil, I placed two or three layers of wetted newspaper, and a weed-blocking membrane (various qualities). I did this a bit at a time, so it took many, many lunch hours and evenings over the course of a few years."

"The yard strip outside of the fence along Sanders Street really gets cooked by direct sun and never looked good, no matter how much water was poured on it. I wanted our yard to look good, have interesting flowers and other plants, and not use much water.   Along this strip, I planted low-growing Speedwell (Veronica), backed up by a variety of colors of Yarrow along the fence."