Grammy and Pop

The wind is blowing so hard here we are getting huge dust storms that coat the interior of the house with dirt, even when the house is all closed up. I have given quite a bit of thought to xeriscaping and initially wanted to do what everyone does - import several tons of rock to cover it up. But I look at the rock in the front of the house and see that it is quickly being consumed by the sandy desert around us. Rocking our backyard would look "good"(if you can call it that) for a few years and then the sand would begin to reclaim it. So I'm researching easier, cost effective and environmentally friendly ways to handle our back yard. I am finding quite a few great ideas. We already have most of the trees planted that we want established. Now I'm moving onto shrubs and then I'll focus on smaller perennials. I don't want to spend the money watering plants forever so all the plants, once established, will need minimal water. I am sticking to desert adapted, non-invasive plants - mostly natives. Some of the trees are not native, but the evergreens I select will be. Anyway. I'll keep you posted. I think we may hold off this year on a permanent vegetable garden until we put in the drip irrigation next year. This year will be a temporary garden (not raised beds as I plan in the future).

This seascape is my back yard. The dust coming into the house from the sand is hard to live with.