Artificial Turf

[Smart Red]

Beautiful house, @ninnymary! The colors are close to the house we are doing. Same-ish lt. and dk. green only ours will have a red and orange as accent colors. I'm hoping to get photo or two tomorrow when I go out for breakfast.

 

[ninnymary]

Smart Red, ours has a red brick color on the door and window trims. Green is my husband's favorite color so we went with those.

Mary

 

[Smart Red]

What direction does the front of the house face? How much sunlight reaches it each day?
If there were enough sunlight, I could see cutting back a few spaces of hedge for espalier fruit trees while leaving most of the hedge as the trees grew.

 

[Nyboy]

I think cane had the right idea, drive around and see if any of the front yards apeal to you. Sure there must be other people by you wanting to save water.

 

[ninnymary]

House faces West. The hedge to the left of the house already has 2 dead shrubs behind that maple tree. I don't know if they died due to lack of water or sun since the tree does shade them somewhat. I would guess lack of sun. I don't water the hedge since it is established. The hedge by the driveway gets a lot of shade from a tree that is planted by the street. So overall, I guess the only espalier trees that would probably do well would be around 2 planted in the front of the maple where there is full sun.

Mary

 

[Carol Dee]

OMG It is Stunning. I love it. You where not kidding when you said it was a small yard. I do think you could use something a bit larger than pea gravel. Then you could blow or leaf vac the leaves that fall there. I do think a bench, a sculpture, fountain or birdbath would look nice too. A planter with some succulents that tolerate drier conditions. (I have seen some fabulous succulents out there, colorful and unique.)

 

[ninnymary]

Carol, I guess to Iowa's standard it is a very small yard. Here it's bigger than most yards in San Francisco.

Mary

 

[catjac1975]

I am almost afraid of posting this. I don't fear others opinions, I just don't want anyone coming down very hard on me for mine. So here goes.

After much deliberation, we are thinking of getting artificial grass for our front lawn. With our drought conditions, it takes a lot of water to water our front lawn which is small at approximately 200 sq. feet. I prefer to use this water for my garden in the backyard. In addition my husband weekly cuts and edges the grass. He also trims the hedges on either side of the lot. I have done the math and the artificial grass would cost us about $25 a month over a 10 yr. period. When I think of the water savings and my husbands time and labor, it seems like a good deal to me.

We've driven around and seen homes and have talked to a homeowner who has it. The stuff nowadays looks pretty real. Visually the lawn would always look pefect and would add a lot of curb appeal to our home. This is important for my business since first impressions have an affect. I have considered drought tolerant planting but I know it would not always look great year round.

I've done as much research as I can on the pros and cons. I've checked reviews on the two companies we are considering. Now I need my gardening friends here to give me their opinions in case I've missed something.

What do you guys think?

Mary

Do what makes you happy! Here it would look ridiculous in January. But if no one can really tell, why not save the water. Or plant it all to flowers.

 

[NwMtGardener]

Love the house!!

Hmmmmmmmm as far as ideas, at first i was thinking a mass planting of the same thing - an ornamental grass, or something that looks good as foliage. But now that i see the pictures hmmmmmmmmm. What about a formal geometric design - with say, liriope maybe in an X shape, with something interesting planted in the 4 triangles that that makes. (oh wait, not sure if liriope is drought tolerant, but i like it as a border). Tryan image search for "formal garden designs" and see if anything catches your eye.

 

[baymule]

Mary your house is beautiful! I can't believe the $$$$ they want to put artificial turf in such a small area. And $2000 just for a design! I think the TEG bunch here can bounce ideas around until you like one or two of them.

You say gravel won't work, what about flagstone laid in a design? Leave an opening where you want to put a plant. Then arrange a bench and birdbath. Your back yard is so tastefully done, I know you will make the front look good too.

2nd idea, what about brick laid in a herringbone design, or other design that you like? It would be smooth and you could rake the leaves. You could build brick planter boxes for the plants you want.