One of the wonderful things about owning a house is thinking of all the projects you can finally do. Tear down a wall? Have at it. Create a scale replica of Machu Picchu in your backyard? Go to work!
Unfortunately, thinking and doing are two very different things. Due to some allowances and insurance money when I moved in two years back, I was able to get some Pergo floors in and did some minor work in the kitchen. Unfortunately, the realities of living settled in and most of my grand projects have come, so far, to naught. I was all set to try to redo the kitchen, but when I was getting multithousand dollar totals for what I wanted to do - even at IKEA! - I decided I had to postpone until later.
One of the projects that I never seemed to get any focus on is landscaping. I've been very shocked and disappointed with the general attitude that seems rampant in the landscaping..uh, field? HA! - in Austin. There are more than a few highly professional firms that specialize in all kinds of high-end projects; mention a standard subdivision plot and a budget of less than $10,000 up front and you suddenly feel daggers through the phone. Due to the Treecalypse I tried arranging something with Home Depot, who just recently started advertising landscaping services...I plan on writing a whole blog entry about that nightmare of an experience. Suffice it to say that they were completely untrustworthy in keeping promised appointments, and that Lowe's is getting more of my money than they otherwise would have. (Alas, they do not offer landscaping.)
SO, I've decided to landscape as much as a DIY project as I can. I must admit it's a little daunting; some of the things I'd like to do are ambitious (i.e. building walls). I got a couple of books on stonework and on landscaping, again from Lowes (Home Depot delendo est!) and they actually make it sound like I could DO a lot of this. I've even found what I think could be the perfect tree to replace my poor ill-fated Bradford pear - the Loblolly Pine. It grows fast, does great in a lot of soils, is native to Texas, and has that stately, yet wild/rustic look that I absolutely love.
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