Casa Milagro - Miracle House...The Symbolism of Landscaping: Phase II

After removing the lawn, a loose hardscape plan in mind and literally no materials or budget...I spent the next two years battling the seasonal growth of weeds following winter storms. On a positive note, that time allowed me to really sink into the creative concept behind the Jacaranda tree shadow as basis for the hardscape plan and to develop more fully. This is probably a very typical approach to a Do-It-Yourself project. It would be good to mention at this point that I did have some amazing garden angels for whom I would not have accomplished what I did. My winged friends include, Susan Lanterman, Sonny Vyborny, Karen Martino, Donna Guhl, Susan Bainbridge, Ann Mitchell and Mark Vyborny.

Insert lawn removal here for this is a funny story in and of itself. I'm frugal. Having said that I set out to remove some 500sf of lawn...by hand! My friend Susan offered her help and never said a word, just went along with my idea of the pick and shovel approach. That lasted about 30 minutes at which point she breathed the words of relief, "Thank God", after which we set off to rent sod removal equipment. As we drove away in her truck fully equipped with trailer hitch, pink gloves and equipment in tow, we could see in the side view mirrors all the rental yard men with perplexed looks and a tilt in their heads. A minor mention of the nice discount we received at the check-out counter...it's good to be a girl!