Welcome To My Junipers

Photobucket

Yes, it is a lawnless front yard.  Yes, it's certainly drought-tolerant.  Yes, it's neat and decently maintained, and there's not a whole lot to have to maintain, either.  It's also a whole lot of Junipers.  

Photobucket

Looking carefully, I saw that behind the wall, there are tips of more junipers rising towards the sun.    It meets all popular goals of water-thrifty, hydrocarbon-thrifty, cleanliness,  and so on, but it doesn't meet our expectations of contemporary style.  It does make a statement.  A really big Juniper Works For Me statement.

Photobucket

The driveway is also lined with potted Junipers, though I did not get a photo.  I was beginning to get a little juniper-ed out.  But not meeting expectations rather puts a smile on my face.  Neither the expectation of a rich green lawn, nor the expectation of the latest and greatest in lawnless garden design are met.  This homeowner found something that satisfied them, and went with it.  All the way.

Photobucket

Comments

  1. We have a house in the neighborhood just like that, only the yard has a bit of a slope. I agree, I applaud their intent even though it is not my cup of tea!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was going to make a joke about them all getting wiped out by the North American Juniper Beetle (thinking I was making up that name) then I decided to look it up and who knew? There really is a Juniper Beetle. (okay maybe everyone but me knew) Anyway a little diversity is always a good thing. Just in case.

    ReplyDelete
  3. These aren't actually your junipers, are they? I can't somehow see you driving that truck :). I have seen lots of them here too, especially in elderly people's yards for whom low maintenance must be really attractive. I can't say I find these junipers exciting, but they are better than lava rocks, or paving...

    ReplyDelete
  4. No that is a property in the neighborhood, not mine. You must admit though that truck would be darn handy for hauling trees and a few cubic yards of compost...

    Come to think of it, I should not be talking about monoculture since I am the one with 300 rose bushes!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Juniper beetle would be a scary thought indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's such a surprise to the hard-core plant fanatics like us that there are those who are happy with junipers as far as the eye can see. Who knows, they're probably busy playing concertos, working on gene splicing...

    ReplyDelete
  7. It took me a while. But I worked out this was a criticism of junipers. You see, this New Zealander doesn't know the style rules for California.
    I'm going for a drive in California in a few months. I'll have a look about.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh dear, Field of Gold, no...I meant it meets all goals of the much-touted "green" lifestyle, just not in the way the Fashionistas envision...sorry, didn't mean to mislead...

    ReplyDelete
  9. I will say there is a history here...junipers of that type were wildly popular in the 60's and 70's in this area...they were over planted everywhere by everyone...there's a history you see, and these days they tend to be avoided for that reason. We attach certain connotations to plants that have nothing, really, to do with the plants...plants come in and out of style, they create a visual symbol of our dreams and aspirations

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Always interested in your thoughts.

Any comments containing a link to a commercial site with the intent to promote that site will be deleted. Thank you for your understanding on this matter.