Back in August, I purchased a new boat. Yeah, I’m up to 4 now, but who is really counting. This boat may have been a bit expensive, and bound to take up more space in our crowded garage. When I asked Danelle’s permission/agreement to purchase the boat, she asked me “What are you going to get rid of?”. I expected that question, but I surprised myself with my quick reply, “Anything!”. Initially shocked, Danelle replied that she wanted the front yard to which I agreed.
This may not sound like much of a trade, but Danelle is an ecologist at heart. Many things that she does are motivated by her love for protecting the physical world around her. Claiming control over the front yard means removing much of the grass that I like with native plants and more garden areas. Ultimately this will lead to less watering outside and some prevention of flooding by her adding on to her existing rain garden.
So here is what the yard looked like before she got started
Then Danelle got landscaping bricks, her parents, and shovels and went to town. Note that I did some helping, but this is her project that she is excited about!
Work went late into the night but had to stop when it got too dark.
Danelle’s dad carving a new path for the water to fill the new rain garden. The existing garden is mainly fed via a french drain that comes from the side yard and the neighbor’s roof.
There it is with some plants in it. It’ll take a year or more for the plants to truly take hold. In the top left of the photo, you can see some extra plants just past the walk up to the house, this area got a makeover as well, but not as large.
Hogan Haake