LIFE AFTER MOTHER: Curb Appeal

If my mother had to choose between the giant evergreen in her front yard and her house, she probably would’ve chosen the tree — and tried to persuade somebody to build her a treehouse so she could live like Jane in search of Tarzan. She once declared she wanted to make the tree part of Anaheim’s historical preservation program — never mind that there was nothing historical about it.

As for what kind of a tree would grow to such dimensions that it would threaten to flatten the house, my neighbor says he remembers it being a “Plantation Pine,” and I’ll take his word for it, although I’ve found nothing about any such species either online or in the gardening books I’ve checked. Whatever it was, it was damaging the house, and — contrary to what my mother would’ve thought — I chose to keep the house. The tree-removal company followed a scorched-earth policy and removed other plants from the front yard, too, leaving only an uneven expanse of scraggly weedy grass, which doesn’t do much for the house’s curb appeal.

At least the lawn stays fairly green — thanks to an automated “smart” sprinkler system that took me months to get the hang of, and I still sometimes wonder if I fully understand. I’ve moved some surplus plants and decorative ironwork that was cluttering up the back yard around to the front, making the appearance a little more inviting. 

In front of the porch remains an eyesore. Where I have memories of ivy and jasmine growing, the transitional space is now bare except for a sparse sprinkling of weeds, a hose faucet, and a trio of bulky wheeled garbage cans — one for trash, one for recyclables, and one for yard waste — that cities like Anaheim are so fond of issuing these days.

My well-meaning neighbor kindly pointed out to me that the city wants people to store their garbage cans out of sight. That’s all I need, some busybody squawking to the city about the sight of garbage cans in my yard, and if you’re wondering why I can’t just put them in my garage, that would require an explanation long enough to fill another column.

Neither of my side yards has a walkway suitable for wheeling the garbage cans back and forth, either, so that means I must now consider some major re-landscaping for both the front and back yards. The back yard has its own set of issues, with a half-dead scraggly weedy lawn, and trees that need to be cut down or transplanted. I’m looking into the possibility of getting some financial assistance to do some drought-resistant landscaping.