April 2025

When I  bought the house in 2008, the front yard was a disaster.  It was completely overridden with weeds which had to be sprayed with herbicide just to get it to bare dirt.  I then planted grass seed which took but over time it too was taken over by weeds as the grass died.  OK, I'll admit it - I killed it.  I became ever more conscious about how much water I was using so I tried cutting back and killing it was the end reult. The silliness of planting grass really hit me when I came across Conversation Between God and St. Francis.  If you haven't seen it before, it's worth a few minutes to read for a laugh and maybe some thought.  That's when the kernel of an idea of xeriscaping was planted in my brain.  And of course Mother Nature is a dynamic duo so you if you're going to have flora, you need fauna so the plan became to swap out the grass for plants that encourage pollinators to visit.

So I cleared the front yard to bare dirt yet again, and the project began.



The tree pictured here is a Bur Oak.  It's a shade tree that has a mature height of 70-80 feet and I think I planted it in 2016.  It looks to be about the height of the 2nd story of the house.  This is the first year that I have noticed acorns.   They're on every branch - a slew of them.  I'm reading that Bur oaks produce large, sweet acorns that are a desirable size and taste for squirrels,



However, I think these might be considered appetizers so I'll have to wait and see.



After I cleared it to bare dirt, my neighbors Jasmine and Angela inquired into my plans only to get a puzzled response from me.   I had an ethereal idea of what I wanted to accomplish, but I'm weak on execution.  So, when they suggested something, I listened.  Jasmine pointed out that I needed to address the gutter run off.  There's a gutter downspount on the front corner of the garage and I thought it just dumped into the ground.  When I was clearing the ground, I discovered that it takes a left turn and goes under the concrete and then dumps into the front yard.   She pointed out that if I didn't redirect that water, it would find it's own path and just wash out whatever I planted in its path so she suggested a "dry creek bed".   So I dug a small meandering trench that starts where the under concrete empty, lined it with plastic and filled it with rocks.  Where'd I get the rock?  Another neighbor - Etana - was looking to remove rock so she could plant a garden and I needed it.  Etana has more rock, so I have more put to down but this is the intended look.   So, when it rains, the water will flow through the creek bed and not cut a path.  At least that's the idea.

You'll notice some flagstone that lines the dry creek bed on either side.  Where'd I get the flagstone?  Yup, a neighbor - Jasmine.  I walk her Shiba Inu 'Kona' once in a while and she commented that they removed all the flagstone from their backyard and had it stacked.   They had initially offered it to some contractors that there were going to do some concrete work for them and then asked if I wanted it.  True to my nature, I immediately said 'Yes' without having a clue what I was going to do with it. I initially just laid them right on the ground and then got the idea to recess them.  If you look under the left side of the tree, there's another path that goes to the fence gate.

Jasmine, Angela and Etana have been such wonderful neighbors giving me guidance, starter plants and continuous cheerleading.  I have been very lucky to have their help and I make every effort to let them know how much I appreciate it.  

This is a view of the corner.  The tree here is a Maple which was well established.  The ground is clear here as well.  Further back is an Elm that I planted in April 2025.







This is the opposite view and the elm that I planted.  Elms were immensely popular in the Midwest resulting in the shade-lines streets of my youth but millions were lost to Dutch Elm Disease (DED) by the mid 60s.   This particular cultivar is David Elm which I'm told is supposed to be resistant to DED with a mature height of 50 feet and a dense canopy.   Whereas the oak above is slow growing, the elm is faster.  If it does OK, it'll be interesting to see if it catches up to the bur oak in a short timespan.




A closer look at the David Elm.




  Next Update:  May-June 2025