I’ve got a notion to do something big to the front yard. I sketched it up; maybe it will make sense to a landscaper. I would like to solve the parking issue elegantly, which would be the ultimate eff-you to my uppity neighbor. My idea, if the sketch is truly undecipherable, is this: Push back the perimeter of the front yard a couple of feet, placing a row or two of nice-looking pavers flush with the street so that the parking that will inevitably be done there won’t continue to rip up my grass and create muddy tire tracks. Install a retaining wall (texture, color, material, and pattern are up for debate) and build up the lawn to level off at the top of the wall. That won’t be too tough since there is already a decent slope to the yard, and I’m not necessarily talking about a very tall retaining wall. (It might be cool to put things in the bed along the wall that will creep and cascade down the wall. Creeping phlox, maybe, which I already have in the back yard.) The existing flower bed that is there will remain there, but I would like to flesh out the perimeter of the yard along the retaining wall with either low-lying flowering shrubs or more flat flowerbeds. Or maybe just some nice manicured grass along the perimeter. Regardless, the point is that I want to rip up the scrubby underbrush-type things that are parked out there right now. The yucca and the aucuba are okay, I guess, but the old stumps and brambles and poison ivy-type shit has got to go. My water main is out there, I think, so I’m betting MLGW would appreciate easier access to it.
Anyway, it’s an idea. I’m in touch with a landscape company so now begins the process of pricing what I want vs. what I can afford.
What do you think — would this be an improvement on the property?
Check your property deed and such. There may be restrictive covenants in force regarding paving-stones up to the edge of the street. I don’t know, obviously, but it’s worth checking before you do anything major.
I’ll check but I think I’m in the clear. I got the paver idea from my neighbor on the corner, who has a couple of rows of them lining the front of her yard to make street parking easier.