This do-it-yourself landscaper wanted
to create a low-maintenance, earth friendly and water-efficient front yard. The
plan was to pick a small group of low water intensive plants and trees and then
surround them with mulch so that they would 'pop'. The photos attest to the
success of this plan.
Everything in the yard was readily
available at the local Home Depot. Recycled crushed red brick serves as mulch
in the parkway and is also used in the driveway. Dark grey-blue slate stepping
stones across the front of the house are re-purposed from the back yard where
they were embedded in concrete between laundry poles which have been removed.
The large California agave spawns pups that can be cut and potted.
This is a very low maintenance
garden. The homeowner waters and trims very infrequently. Wind and rain doesn’t
disturb the large areas of black mulch, but leaves sometimes get caught on it
and need to be picked up
