Removing the Lawn

They removed over two thirds of the lawn today. They used a sod cutter and just rolled it up and put it the truck (which they filled). They're going to finish the removing the lawn in the morning.






It looks like they're close to finishing the patio wall, both on the outside:




and the inside:


and the garage and back doors:



and even the trim on the garage:

Black is the New Black

They've started to put the black trim up. All that's left are the doors and the patio wall frame.

"Shaggy Barked"

Yesterday, they removed the shrubs on the side of the house. Today, they repainted the house and the garage.


I chose the Dunn-Edwards color "shaggy barked."

Originally, the house was two toned: the wood was mint green and the stucco was pinkish beige. Now, it is one color:



In addition, they've painted the side wall and the garage.


The next step is to paint the trim. I've chosen a glossy black for the house trim and doors (except the garage), while the window trim will remain glossy white (the windows themselves are white and it would look jarring to paint the frames black -- I saw someone who did that and it just didn't look right).

Railings

I had railings put up along my front and back stairs. I think they came out great!

The front steps:



The back steps and porch:




Almost all the structural improvements are now in place (except the picture window treatment, which is still being repaired by Hunter-Douglas).

After Sukkot, I start relandscaping.

Borders

I've been working on the various borders for the front of the house. The key limiting factor has been water: The area in front of the bedroom window will receive no additional water. I'm planning on planting UC Verde grass, an improved Meyer Lemon, and a Valencia Orange. All these plants should only receive limited to no additional water in the summer.

As a result, I've chosen a mix of three plants that require little to no additional water in the summer. All of them are also small enough to grow in the three foot border that will run along the three sides of the lawn (the fourth side being the planter box):

White Sage:

California Fuschia:

Saffron Buckwheat


I have a lot more options for the lawn area in front of the living room. That's because I will probably water this area once a week.

The center piece will be a desert willow:


For ground cover, I will either use strawberry


or kinnikinnick


And along the border I will plant
David's Choice Coast Sagebrush


Douglas Iris


and Blue-Eyed Grass



I'm also thinking of planting sets of bulbs that would bloom at different seasons of the year

I've Chosen a House Color

Meet Dunn-Edwards "Shaggy Barked"


What I like about this color is that it could never be mistaken for mint. Depending on the light, it either appears to be a grey sage green or just a light or tan gray. It also appears to work well on both wood and stucco.



I also like the use of black as the trim here.

Shades of Green

I've been trying to figure out 1) what shade of green I currently have; and 2) which shade of green I want to have. Part of the problem is that my house faces north and so receives very little direct sunlight. The other part of the problem is that the rest of the house is stucco, which reflects light differently than wood.

I photographed the green in closeup. This first one is in shade

The second one is in sunlight.



I've been cycling around the neighborhood, photographing both paint colors and gardens.

This is an example of what looks like mint. You can see how the color changes based on the texture of the material. This is also an example of a color I don't like.



This next house I really liked. Particularly, in that they also use native plants in their garden. The problem is that part of what makes their house work is the stone on the bottom, which I don't have.





Here are two other variations
The first is right across the street from the above house.



I also saw this house, which I thought had a dramatic trim with the green. The first photo shows the house with the native garden, the next shows the trim:



I also liked this approach, which used a kind of camel yellow as trim:


There's one street in the California Heights neighborhood, where several people have put in native gardens. Here are some that I like or found interesting:










I also found one house in the neighborhood, whose landscaping I also really liked: