Weddingbee boards

So I'm thinking about xeriscaping my small front yard.

This would involve ripping out the (deeply mediocre) lawn, and going with a combination of stone, groundcover, and ornamental grasses that use less water, but have more interest (IMO) than a lawn.

I hate lawn maintenance, and I'm interested in water conservation. But I'm worried about the neighbors. We would be the first to do it on the block, and it would stand out among the other neat little lawns.

So, as a homeowner, would you be POed if a neighbor did this? Indifferent? Inspired? Here's an example of what I'm thinking of:

I would think that this improves the value of a home - I'm all for improvements that do that!  I think it helps a neighborhood overall.  

Thanks for the feedback!

@ JamaicaBride: No HOA. I live in a small urban neighborhood of historic bungalows.

@ MissBliss: Fair questions. I have no plans to have a child friendly space. We don't really have children in our lives, and plan on buying a bigger home before we have kids. We do plan on doing the major renovations as fast as possible, not over several months or years.

I would think its cool...or I would be indifferent...as long as your lawn/yard is maintained in some way I dont think its anyone else's business really!

It would look a heckuva lot better than a sea of unkempt lawn! There are so many options out there for a project like this, you won't have any trouble. Are you much of a gardener? Any sort of landscaping will require maintenance. I'd go for miniatures and plants that are slow spreaders. With lots and lots of mulch in the meantime. 

Its beautiful but if you don't like lawn maintence then how is this better? That seems to me as with any landscaping, a lot of upkeep. Your still going to have to put in a lot of work each year to keep it looking that way.

Thanks again on the feedback!

On the maintenance issue, part of the idea behind xeriscaping is that it is incredibly low maintenance. You only use plants that are either native or well adapted to the natural conditions in the region. You rarely if ever fertilize, only water a couple of times. You stick to perennials, groundcover, and shrubs, not annuals.

So, in other words, by choosing plants that have their needs met by the natural conditions (in my area, hot and dry summers with mild, wet winters), you don't have to engage in the same level of care.

And I would hire a landscaper to design and install. My plan is to request a garden with low maintenance, that won't grow too tall, and will have interest year round.

My question to you would be.. what is the size of your front lawn?  There are several people in our neighborhood with this, and I love it, however their front lawn in about 35' wide by 40' deep.  If the yard is too much bigger, it tends to look "busy"

You could look into tiering, and putting small portions of "tall grass" (ie maintenance free grass) into some of the segments.  Plant levels with similar plants, so that it gives it a cohesive look, and plan your colors well.  Too many colors will look crazy.

Large rocks, portions of paving/stone & shrubs that stay green year round are helpful, otherwise in the colder months the yard is pretty barren.

You can also use colored wood chips to give the planted areas an extra pop.

That's my advice.

@ Ella1978: My lawn is only about 10'x8', with a 10'x2' devil strip (that part inbetween the sidewalk and the road). I totally hear you about busy. The most successful xeriscaping I've seen on large scale is rather spartan, more rocks and paving stone than plants.

But you're totally right, we do plan on using paving stone and rocks. We're also lucky to have a wide variety of plants that retain leaves and color year round in our mild winter.

Ah, Sacremento.. yes, you have many more plants that have color in December than I do.. I should have noticed :)

10x8 is more than a perfect size for this!  I hope you are able to share some pics should you decide to do this.  I think it's pretty amazing!

In case anyone is curious, this is a good approximation of what it would look like the first year, and this lawn is similar in size to mine (though my house is cuter and is in cool tones, so I would pick cooler tones for the rocks and foliage):

In a year or two, I would like a more filled in look that this, with this being closer to my ideal:

Thanks again for bringing up more things to think about!

I do very much think this will increase curb appeal, but it will also scare off some buyers in the future. The trend in our area is toward this kind of landscaping, though, so hopefully there will be enough people who appreciate the forward approach. Luckily we live in the kind of neighborhood that is geared towards young professionals and urbane retirees, so it won't be as hard of a sell as it would be in a family oriented suburb. No one is moving here with picket fence dreams.

We plan on being here at least another 5 years, and the cost of project should come in around only 2% of the house value (in Cali, we have expensive homes but cheap labour). So I think the investment will improve my quality of life (won't have to stress so much about keeping a lawn green through 6 months of no rain and sprinkler restrictions) and either increase value or just increase the number of people who tour when we put it on the market. We'll also not have to worry as much about what time of year we list, as it will look good year round.

@ troubled: I'm probably going to seed with clover this weekend! Our extra money is all going to wedding stuff right now (shocker, I know), so we won't hire a designer until the fall, and probably won't plant most things until the spring (except those shrubs that require fall planting), so doing clover in the meantime will keep it a little greener, and aerate the soil. So, actually, I thought of this in the first place because I am trying to decide between grass or clover for the weekend project. If I got really strong no reactions, I probably was going to aerate and put in more grass seed this weekend, but just seeding clover looks like my project!

Thanks everyone. I love that I got really practical, smart pointers to consider.

@ pinkmonkee: I wouldn't be surprised if that article is about Sacramento (my city). They went after a couple that ripped out their lawn in response to drought. They have recently changed the regulations to allow you to let your lawn die, then replace it with other landscaping. My plan is actually to maintain the (not great) lawn up until I'm ready to rip it out.

@beekiss: Are you saying that monitajb won't keep up with it? Or are you saying that all people who have lawns keep up with its maintenance?

I still think it's a good idea, personally. :P

@ beekiss: I totally understand your concerns, I'm from the midwest myself. We don't really have weed issues if you don't water, and there is literally no rain for the six month growing period. Keeping up a lawn is super hard in the summer here, so that is why I think the native garden will be much easier upkeep.

But I am really glad you brought up the irrigation issues. It can rain buckets in the winter, I'll be sure to raise that with my landscaper so we don't get a mess at that time. Thanks for the thought!