The Front Yard

Anyone who knows me knows I love gardening.  Our yard is always a work in progress and I am glad for that as it gives me a reason to go outside.  I love to putz in the yard, my head just clears and I can focus on whatever I am doing rather than thinking about the stresses of work. 

Since moving to this house I have been gradually changing things up and keep trying to add more flowers.  I love flowers and color and flowers : )  I have a number of junipers that were put in by the original owners.  They didn't like yard work so put in low maintenance options.  These are nice and green but eventually they get massive.  I prefer more perennials and showy plants.  It is hard work and costly to replace all at once so I have gradually been ripping things out and putting a new plant here and there.  One thing that is great about our front yard is the rock that covers part of the lawn.  Not that I am a huge fan of the red rock but it was here already.  It does however reduce the amount of lawn to cut and the amount of water needed to maintain the yard.  I have started to put perennials and grasses within the rock here and there. 

We don't live in a fancy neighborhood but it does have lots of big trees which we love.  Our house was built in the 70's and those across the street from us our from the 1950's.  All of the houses are at that age where they need some love.  Some have been updated and some not. It makes for a interesting neighborhood with a variety of yards and landscapes.  We often get comments on our yard which is great and I hope to keep making it nicer. 
Today I was in the living room and a very old couple came down the street.  The man was pushing his wife in a wheel chair, she looked fairly frail.  They stopped for a bit and enjoyed the yard before continuing their outing.  That's the thing when you take some time to make things look nice, it gives other people pleasure as well.  That makes me feel good that all the effort is worth it : )

(Challenge Post Day #18)