Walking on a quiet street in a Los Angeles suburb, my eighty-year-old father and I approached a lovely adobe home. As we walked along, I noticed that he was slowly shaking his head as he simply stated, “It’s not for me.” I was showing him a garden in my neighborhood that I was especially fond […]
lazy gardening
Driving east
Did you ever feel like getting in the car and just driving east? You know, leaving the errands behind and crossing the whole country? Maybe it is the extreme heat we have been experiencing. Maybe it is the pull of my family, my daughter, son, sister, brother, in-laws, nieces, nephews… they are all back east. […]
Disappearing lawn
A month ago when we had just returned from India, I was sitting in my office looking out the window at the front lawn. The grass on the east side of the front yard, one of the few remaining patches, is green except at the corner. Clearly that area is not getting enough water. The […]
Home again
We have been home for eight days after six months in India, oh my, it feels good. I promised to give an update on how my wild suburban garden did during our absence and I am happy to report that it did just fine. We left for India on December 1, entrusting our house to […]
How much time does it take?
One of my biggest goals at Wild Suburbia is to hone my lazy-gardening skills. I know that my family laughs when I talk about how little time I spend in the garden. Yes, it is true that sometimes a quick fifteen minutes in the garden is two hours by the clock. After all, I am […]
Sorcerer’s Apprentice
The music has been going through my head all day. This morning I decided the irrigation system was due for a tune-up. Starting early, I worked and worked, moving, lifting and adjusting sprinkler heads. And then after hours of work, I got to conduct the irrigation system, using my iphone, no less. It was so […]
It’s alive!
So nice to be home. Traveling is wonderful, but it feels so good to sleep in one’s own bed. Maybe that is why going away is so great – to appreciate home that much more. I promised to report back on how everything did during our three-week absence. Well I am happy to say, everything […]
Quick-ties and duct tape can fix anything
One of the reasons that I decided to have a wild garden was that I wanted to be able to go on vacation and not worry that the irrigation system would fail, leaving my landscape scorched brown or emerald green (with a deservedly astronomical water bill). Although I do not water more often than about […]
Lazy Gardener – Success!
Since the Theodore Payne Garden Tour I have truly reached new heights in the realm of lazy gardening. (See below for links to other posts on lazy gardening). And, I can now honestly say that this has been possible without relying on stronger backs to do the work. I no longer employ a lawn crew […]
Work Reduction Work
Real quick post before going off to the beach. In my ongoing effort to be a lazy gardener I am always looking for changes that will result in less work. This week I did a big one. There were three very old xylosma shrubs that formed part of a hedge next to the sidewalk. It […]