walls and gardens

When we moved in, twenty-some years ago, my neighbors warned me that the retaining wall at the back of my little yard would be replaced so there was no point in putting in anything nice in the backyard. I did anyway. I read and read and planned and planted beds with shade plants and tried valiantly to grow grass. It was very suburbia. 

When my last attempt to grow grass failed I stopped doing anything in the yard because the perennials took care of themselves. 

Now the HOA will replace the retaining wall with a brick one because part of it, behind some of my neighbors, has begun to leak. They'll trounce all over my plants and crush everything, but it will grow back. 

What was not ok was that they were planning on installing a wall that had plastic holes putting water into our backyards despite our neighbor asking repeatedly if they were going to and saying repeatedly that it was not acceptable. 

Today Samuel barked at some men looking at the yard. Fortunately for me one of my meetings was postponed by 30 minutes which was just long enough for me to talk with them, find out they were planning on putting plastic holes in the wall, have the one guy dismiss my concerns, and me tell them that they would not, that I would get an attorney and not allow them access to my private property. Amazingly, within 30 minutes they realized they could do things another way that did not involve sending water into our yards. 

Next year I can redesign my backyard. 

One of the things I realized from Kate's pictures of her magnificent garden was that I don't need grass paths. I'll make one more effort and then create a path of mulch or something if it doesn't work. 

Next I get to fantasize about whether I plan for a small yard, plan for a pollinator yard, or figure out what flowers I like to photograph and plant those. For what it is worth, my yard is 20 feet by 20 feet and half of that is covered by decking, so it isn't an overwhelming project.