Xeri-What?

Hubs & I bought our house two weeks before our wedding. It's in the city, sitting on a bit over 1/2 an acre in an older neighborhood.

The neighborhood was established in the early 1960s. A time when the backyard was the hub of entertaining. Manly men BBQ'd chunks of meat while the little lady served that new and exotic french onion dip and sipped Tom Collins. The yards were large with lots of shade trees and soft, green grass, perfect for croquet, badminton and little feet. I'm fortunate enough to also have a huge swimming pool, the height of 60's entertaining.

Here is how it looked when we bought it three years ago.

Beautiful, right?  But that beauty come at a very high price.  It takes water to keep all that beauty green.  A lot of water. 

We live in Oklahoma and we are smack dab in the middle of a drought.  Reports have said it's as bad as,or possibly worse than, the drought of the Dust Bowl era.  For the past few years, we've had burn bans and mandatory odd/even watering restriction programs.  Not good for the green when the temp is 100+ for weeks on end.

It's also not good on the green in our pocketbook.  If you use more than your 'alloted' guesstimated amount, the city charges more.  Not only do they increase their rate, they increase it for a whole year, even if you decrease your usage! 

Combine all this with a desire to be more ecological, well, it means it's time for a major change in how the yard looks and how it is used.  Enter xeriscaping.

Xeriscaping simply refers to a method of landscape design that minimizes water use.  It typically uses native plants or plants that grow in similar climates.  This is the direction Tenderfoot Hearth is headed.

Remember that verdant yard?  Well, here is what it looks like today.

Yes, I am intentionally letting the grass and plants die.  My poor little 94-year-old neighbor is just beside herself!  She just can't quite wrap her head around where all this is going.  Fortunately, she trusts me. She loves all the changes I've already made and said she looks forward to see what exactly I've got up my sleeve.

I think she likes that I challenge the norm and take some risks.  I like that I challenge the norm and take some risks!  Believe me, this is risky.  All the houses in my neighborhood are green and lush.  My poor yard sticks out like a sore thumb right now.  But that's OK.  By spring, all that dirt will be replace with some other types of green things.  Green things which don't require overusing our precious resources.  Green things that can be eaten and shared with those doubtful neighbors.  Green things I can be happy with.