There’s nothing like being a first-time buyer during a housing bubble. That was the challenge I faced when I started house hunting in June 2003.
A severe inventory shortage – combined with skyrocketing prices – turned my search into an ongoing series of frustrations.
Then, in October 2004, I found a cute little brick house with beam ceilings. It was located in a central Tucson neighborhood that developed rapidly during the post-World War II years.
The yard? It consisted of a sun-baked expanse of crushed rock in the front yard and out-of-control Bermuda grass (an invasive species) in the back-yard.
Shortly after my offer was accepted, I was showing my house-to-be to a friend. She saw my barren front yard and said, “That’s your palette!”
To put it mildly, I was inspired.
In essence, I would be creating a landscape that would integrate nature with the built environment. A worthy project if there ever was one.
It’s one thing to be inspired when a friend calls your barren front yard a palette. Putting that inspiration into action – and integrating nature with my built environment? Now, that is a project! It’s one I’m still working on.
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