In planning the front yard, I would like to make a landscape that doesn't require any watering during the dry season. My mom suggested that we make a creek bed down the middle of the space, so I worked on a design that will route rainwater runoff from the down-spout into a depression lined with rocks that will become our little creek. To form the creek, dirt would be removed to form a depression running down the middle of the yard and mounded up on either side to create little hills that run parallel to the creek. My only concern with the creek bed is that we would need a lot of rocks which require a lot of fuel to transport from where ever they come from, but I thought we might be able to get a few car loads from a beach or something. On the mounds next to the creek we would plant dwarf fruit/nut trees that would benefit from the water that collects in the creek. Around the outside of the trees I have indicated bushes of lavender which attract bees and have a nice flower in the summertime. And the rest of the space around the lavender would just be seeded with California poppy for a nice seasonal color. And for an added touch, we could move the planter box that is already there and transplant some artichoke from the backyard into the front. It would be in the shade of a young oak tree during the hot months and probably do really well there.

I have drawn the front walkway as an example of permeable hardscape. This allows rain water to seep into the ground and not run off into the gutter. We would likely want to plant some kind of creeping low plant, like moss or something squishy but hardy, in between the briken concrete pavers. The only other detail in this drawing are the anchor poles/points for shade and or netting for the fruit trees and creek bed. It is an idea I have been thinking about for some time while watching the squirrels make off with most of our apricot crop each summer. It would be a custom, high quality netting that could be nicely strung up on the poles and over the dwarf fruit trees for the few months while the are fruiting to preserve the entire crop from pests. After the crop they could be removed for aesthetic reasons. It would take a good design to pull off well, but I think it could be effective and attractive at the same time.