3/4 minus crushed rock, is much better than pea gravel. I don’t even know what that stuff is for.
Big boulders?
So jealous.
Did you go to Marenakos?
We are having wildfires in the rainforest it is so dry.
I hope they ban fireworks, and anyone who sets them off anyway, has to serve as a volunteer firefighter.
I took out my grass and made beds with stepping stones or trails through the yard.
Although there is a cement path down the side and back of the house, which H won’t let me tear out, the other paths are covered with bark nuggets, as is the patio sized level spot where we have the bbq and lawn furniture.
I tried to plant grass, but our pup put an end to that, so we will use bark till I decide otherwise.
I have naturalized landscaping, so it looks good.
I actually gave it the tennis shoe test at the supply yard today… and it passed. The pea gravel is the one that got stuck in my tennis shoe treads and not the larger 3/8" that we are getting.
In my yard I use ground covers that spread, some even smell nice like mint & thyme & oregano. Most just spread like Irish moss & Australian violet.
But some have fruit like beach strawberry & kinickinnick.
Ground covers might be an option to keep gravel from going too far from paths.They also keep weeds down.
We are buying a place across the Sound as a vacation/retirement home. The former owner landscaped with native plants, no lawn at all, with berms and gravel and bark. It’s been vacant for the past year and with no watering other than rain it looks fantastic. One of the selling points to us is drought-resistance.
In our current home we abandon the grass once it goes dormant in summer, mowing as needed. There are still flowers and plants that need some water, but we try to keep it to only what they need. After 40+ years, the neighbor still tries to water the dry spot on her front lawn that appears every summer.
Our plan includes 4 different types of 4" containers of ground cover-- 198 in total. Except for 1 area that is about 9’ wide, toward the back center of our property that transitions into a 7’ wide (existing rock dry creek), we only have pathways that range in width from 3’ to 6’. In the gravel areas that are wider, our designer has selected plants and/or ground covers that will eventually spread into the wider areas and will reduce the amount of gravel. You are absolutely correct in pointing out that gravel which covers too large an area is kind of unsightly and our plan has definitely taken that into consideration.
I would strongly advise anyone looking to extensively redesign to hire a professional if they can afford to do so. Besides creating a design, they select the right types, growth characteristics, irrigation needs, irrigation zones, irrigation type, of all new plantings. The drip system alone can be a complicated task. There are many different types along with the correct emitter and GPH output for each plant specimen. They also give suggestions on what types of mulch and/or rock to use, soil preparation, planting specs, drainage-- the list goes on and on. In other words, money well spent!
Speaking of water conservation, I discovered another shortcut that saves a few ounces of water: instead of washing out empty sour cream and yogurt containers for recycling, I put them on the floor. The cats do a nice dishwashing job with those!
I really wish there were a way to ship you all water from Maine! My son just came home from California. He said he’s glad to be back where there’s no drought. He likes to take long showers.
MaineLonghorn, our kids don’t shower. They are water therapy sessions.
emeraldkity4, I wish they would ban fireworks in our state as well. Besides the fire danger when was the last time we celebrated a 4th of July and no one was injured?
I hear you, EK! The dry thunderstorms freaked me out this morning. Not. What. We. Need. Mother Nature used to pre-wet everything just before the 4th of July, but she decided to take a break this year. The city of Kenmore has signs posted that say “fireworks are illegal”. Betcha some rednecks already stocked up on illegal firecrackers in Tulalip, so what the 2 Kenmore cops would be able to do to control the Armageddon?!
I was going to go swimming at Mounger Pool, but since it is outside, they close it when it is stormy. So I went to an inside pool.
It actually rained here, but not much.
They need to ban sales, including on tribal lands.
I used to like them. We had a place where we could see both the Fratellis & Ivars sponsored fireworks.
I even remember seeing them at Greenlake, and when my mom lived next to the Bellevue park, we would see them there. That was fun, about ten years ago, it was small enough that it felt like an old time community event.
Playing with capa & sparklers was part of my childhood.
But it is not worth the risk. Not even close.
Fireworks are banned in Seattle, but so many people light them off anyway, that my dog was a nervous wreck. ( our previous dog, was bred for sport, so it didnt even faze her when the Blue Angels buzzed our house)
It didnt rain that much, :(, but any storm makes me so nervous with D living in prime fire country.
There are so many reasons, IMO to ban firework sales.
The drought,
neighbors with PTSD,
animals with PTSD,
fire risk even without the drought,
the fact that celebrants do not scour the neighborhoods and pick up their garbage,
the numbers of children and adults who are injured whether they are bystanders, or purchasers.
I also do not attend the sponsored fireworks displays anymore, because it seems that there are always a few in the crowd with M-80s, which really freaks me out. http://www.wsp.wa.gov/fire/statistics.htm
Crossing off West Seattle for next weekend, although I may go to Georgetown. http://westseattleblog.com/2015/06/emergency-ban-on-fireworks-unincorporated-king-county-community-advocates-ask-for-it-in-online-petition-drive/#comments
Recent article on the drought/heat/wildfires in the West, particularly WA. I had no idea how bad things have gotten. No rain since May in Walla Walla? Wow.
It is pretty bad here. We had just one day of substantial rain in Seattle since July 4, and prior to that, there has not been much rain either. My backyard lawn is not dormant, it is dead - we planned on getting rid of it, but I was not expecting that the summer will help this much.
so sad.
where my daughter lives is pretty dependent on having a decent ski season.
Didn’t happen last year, and doesn’t look like it will happen this year either.
In the summer, tourism is often driven by those taking fly fishing trips.
But the rivers are way down, so the runs have already been compromised, so that isn’t a go either, in many places.
So what are you gonna do with where your lawn was?
I made three beds in my planting strip in front. with bark covered paths that match up to rest of yard. I started with a scarlet oak from the city light program, and added a native witchhazel that I got when I worked at the Bellevue Botanical Garden, and I think a Jelena witch hazel, that I got on the Swansons 50% off table last fall.
I filled in with sword ferns, strawberry ground cover, some autumn joy sedums for the really dry parts, and some heaths and heathers. and oak leaf hydrangea. and a couple other perennials
Thats just the planting strip, which is about 14’x45.
but it didn’t even really have grass, just dandelions.
It’s raining in Ballard!
El nino is bad.
We need snow in the mts in winter, not rain.
Rain collapses hillsides and destroys homes and silts up the rivers.
The city of Kenmore has signs posted that say “fireworks are illegal”. Betcha some rednecks already stocked up on illegal firecrackers in Tulalip, so what the 2 Kenmore cops would be able to do to control the Armageddon?!