A simple plan, expanded

So, here is what my front yard looked like less than a month ago. Not a bit of true lawn, just pure spring weeds. And here is what that same stretch looks like now: This is one of those projects that started with a simple desire to have a drip irrigation system put in. Trying to water plants and lawn and trees at the old house last year was a bit of a nightmare (lots a dragging around the hose and setting multiple egg timers), and the idea of having a super-efficient watering system just makes sense when we're still in a drought, despite the winter/spring rains. And as long as that digging was going on, it seemed like a good time to put in a few xeriscape plants in the front half of the yard; you know, let them get established before the heat sets in.
Then it seemed only logical to have the decomposed granite mulch go all the way to the house, in terms of transitions. Etc., etc.

Tim and his team at San Isidro Design were nice enough to run with the change in scope, translate my plan on paper into a real landscape (and troubleshoot the problem areas), and make it all happen in a short amount of time. Can't say enough good things about these guys!

Here are some more shots of the process: The crepe myrtle part of the yard, before and after: I am so incredibly excited about this new landscape and what a great job the San Isidro team did! I have had a couple of people ask me if I'm planting grass in the front, which I find interesting. This neighborhood is a bit more cottage garden and lawn-skewed than the 50's era, xeriscape-friendly neighborhood I just moved from. But I think as the plants mature over the next couple of seasons, it'll start to blend in a bit more.