Landscaping, the Great Unknown

Sitting on the couch, listening to Hall & Oates, looking out onto my front yard. It's beautiful and sunny outside. Must be 85 degrees or something.

We've done a lot of work on the house in the 10 months we've lived here. The floors, the paint, the A/C. The next big thing to tackle is the yard. I'm almost too afraid to think about it.

The backyard needs a complete overhaul. It's huge and flat, which is good, but it needs some real landscaping, maybe even professional landscaping. Planting a few trees here and there won't do; we need to redesign the whole thing.

The front yard is more managable and I'm thinking of taking a crack at it myself. Maybe some camellias and peach blossoms. Nothing requiring much water or maintenance. There's an Armstrong nursery in Glendale. I should just go there. I need to stop thinking about mulching and pruning and other things I don't understand, and just buy a plant, stick it in the ground and hope for the best. It's springtime. Time for new things.