Arlington Homes & Gardens, Part 1

This is the first edition of what I hope to be a monthly post: Arlington Homes & Gardens.

I am a big fan of walking. I find walking around Arlington neighborhoods a great way for exercise, catching up with friends and finding good landscaping ideas for my own home. This way I can see what plants work in my climate as well as ones that look good with the Arlington brick-style homes. It's a great way to learn from others. And I've noticed that Arlingtonians are awesome at taking the same circa 1930-40s home and really making it unique, despite it being the exact same layout as the rest of the block. There are so many different variations on the theme of the yards!

This house, which I think is more of a "meadow" theme, has my favorite garden so far. Fa-vor-ite. Note the green roof (close ups below)! Also, the front yard is 100% garden. No lawn. Love it.



I also love the upside down tomato planters hanging from the roof of the porch. Both decorative & functional!


Now, one thing to keep in mind with this kind of garden is that it doesn't just happen overnight. It takes a few years for plants to establish and fill in the gaps. Of course, you could spend a *fortune* on plants & not have any gaps. This would certainly provide an instant garden. However, after a few years you'd have to dig up plants to give everything a little room to grow.

Remember, there's a difference between "natural" and "overgrown"!