Just in time for...

Near the end of May, at the beginning of the landscaping work to spruce up the back and front yards, the head dude, Josue, said rather enthusiastically: -just in time for Summer! He meant, of course, that the work that began in May would likely conclude about mid-July, then we'd be ready to enjoy the rest of our summer days out in the new backyard digs. When the end of July rolled around, he said: -just in time for Fall! And, of course, Josue meant that the work would conclude--after an illness, a missing bit of wood that needed to be newly ordered, and a vacation put the job on hold for a good few weeks--mid-August. 

Today is August 28th and the job would appear, knock wood, to be finished!

Here are a few before and after snaps for you to feast your eyes on:

This is the yard when we first moved in. 

We then added raised beds, planted around the perimeter, and laid down seeds for a lawn.

After a few years of having the lawn, we decided to let it die as it was, after all, quite costly to maintain. It just doesn't make sense to grow lush, green grass in this semi-arid climate. We opted instead to plant native flora in our raised beds and tend to the plants along the fencing we'd both inherited and had put in the ground ourselves. 

Ultimately, the yard, a rectangle with a concrete footpath around it, didn't really float our boat, so we thought about ways to re-mold it into a more user-friendly and pollinator-attractive habitat. Whatever we thought of absolutely included removal of the concrete path, and a mega-large slab of concrete at the back of the house that was likely used as a seating area by the previous homeowner. Looking for inspiration, we went online to see what local landscaping companies were doing. We found a landscape design firm here in SF that seemed to be invested in creating gardens that were more aligned with local climate and environment than not, so we approached them for assistance. The design included about 70% local plants and 30% non-native. All of the concrete was to be removed and some of it would be repurposed and used as a footpath. We would still have our old raised beds and potted plants from before the yard re-do. The finished result is a beauty. I'm so glad we took the plunge. 

We also had the landscape dudes enclose a small portion of the yard at the back of the house that would be for the cats to use. They have access to the 'catio' via my husband's office. It's a cosy space replete with cat mint and ferns and such, but there aren't yet enough elevated spaces for the cats to perch on, so they'd really rather be out in the 'big yard'. If we're feeling like we can keep an eye on them, then we bring them out to sit with us, but as soon as they start eyeing the fence, we put them inside. 

View from back of the house--

From my new bench at the back of the yard-- 

Partial plant list for those who are interested:

Yerba Buena

Sticky Monkey Flower

Yarrow

Coastal Sage

Coastal Sedge

California Lilac

Buckwheat

White Sage 

Coyote Mint