August 21st, 2007
(One of) My Current Obsession(s)
The yard.
At my last place, the owner maintained a lovely lush courtyard with a water feature, mature trees, and flowering bulbs and vines. It was gorgeous. I loved it.
But since she decided I was too scruffy and tasteless for her, now we live here.
It’s not gorgeous. I don’t love it. This house was a student rental, and the motley crew here before us had a dog that they weren’t very responsible about. All of that shows. We’ve spent most of the last two months painting the entire interior because it was in rough shape. It’s 100 degrees in the shade here most days so we haven’t had a lot of energy for outdoor work.
Also, as mentioned, we’re renting. I don’t have tons of money to sink into it. (Not to mention I worry that if we make it too nice, we’ll be OUT and the place will be rented to a faculty couple for half again the current rent before you can say “white heterosexual middle-class privilege.”)
So, any suggestions from the gardeners out there? Keep in mind it’s New Mexico, please, so we need something water-conserving (despite the fact that the stupid landlord put in a bluegrass front lawn which we also have to maintain; at least it looks nice). The backyard is a really big space with full sun from about 11 AM on in the summer, and it’s really private; I believe it could be really pretty and usable if something were done about it.
Caveats:
1) The cactus is OUT if I can get the landlord to agree. It’s hard to imagine enjoying a space when you’re worried about getting stabbed in the butt by an opuntia that’s gotten way too big for its britches.
2) I hate rock mulch. I know it’s the be-all end-all of xeriscaping, but I think it looks crappy and radiates heat.
My current ideas are:
1) till the weeds under, cover for the winter, and in the spring seed with buffalo grass and a wildflower mix, with a few butterfly bushes to hide the ugly metal shed at the back. Downsides: Buffalo grass does require water and maintenance, though much less than bluegrass, and we would probably have to come up with the money for the tilling. I have no idea how much that would cost.
2) cover everything with landscape fabric ($6 a square foot, people), get a load of bark mulch and/or woodchips delivered, plant some strategic butterfly bushes, some Russian sage, and maybe a fruit tree or two, along with perhaps perennial beds along the fence. Downsides: Cost of the landscaping fabric is probably prohibitive, but the mulch by itself probably wouldn’t conquer the superhero weeds we’re currently cultivating. The landlord MIGHT pay for the plants.
What do you think?
Next up: Your chance to weigh in on my other current obsession, our bizarro bathroom.
