mid-century modern drought tolerant landscaping

When we re-did our bathrooms three years ago, we re-landscaped a tiny strip of yard on the back fence so the bathrooms would have a view.

It was beyond silly and humiliating to me that the rest of the yard looked like this.

kicking off 2014 with a landscape redo and drought tolerant california planting - before pictures

You have probably heard. We are having a drought in California. We showed great reverence for this terrible state of affairs by removing our roses (thirsty girls).

In our household we are exceptionally good at removing things. Not so good at putting things back together. To be perfectly honest, I think I had the roses pulled out about nine months ago. Don't judge.

hunt for a mid-century modern garden bench

We landscaped the strip of yard decimated by our bathroom remodel about 9 months ago. The contractor left a small seven foot patch of land bare of plants and specified "bench - owner to supply."

Boo. Big blank spot in pretty garden to the right near the wall.

Can you see the big blank spot to the right. I have been scouring eBay, websites and Craigslist ever since.

big birthday bauer balls

When I went to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art with my son at the end of December, I was fascinated by the big Bauer garden orbs featured in the gift shop.

Bauer Pottery Garden Orbs picture compliments of LA Magazine.

I have a serious thing for Bauer. Bauer was my first foray into eBay in 1998. I was home on maternity leave and eventually wound up on a first name basis with the FedEx guy. These garden orbs at LACMA thrilled me but they were ever so expensive.

lighting a mid-century modern landscape design

The best part about our new mid-century modern landscape design was the lighting. The landscaper used high end low voltage lights from Corona lighting. I went out with a tripod a few nights ago to capture the full effect.

Dusk in a mid-century modern garden

landscaping a mid-century modern home

After we remodeled our bathrooms, we were left with a 10 by 67 square foot piece of land off the back fence. I was terrified it would turn in a junkyard. Odd bits of yard are prone to become somewhat ghetto overnight ... a hose here, some unused lumbar there, random pieces of flagstone stacked up against a wall -- and before you know it, a blight on the neighborhood.  But, luckily, I had saved a tiny bit of the remodel budget to deal with our mid-century modern garden problem. I was obsessed with having a view out the new bathroom window:

do it yourself or hire a landscaper?

Do you do it yourself or do you hire a landscaper? That was the question Albert and I have tussled back and forth with since the completion of our mid-century modern bathroom remodel back in May. Since the finish of the job we have been staring at this:

Strip of land at the back of the house created by the remodel

landscaping disaster post mid-century modern remodel

I knew this moment would come. The remodel is done and all the money is spent. But the back of the house looks like it was flattened by a herd of wild elephants. Not to mention the city required us to dig down next to the foundation, creating a high yard side near the fence and a low yard side near the house, perfect for the next El Nino.

Remember the weep screed?