Your Yard From Boom to Bust #5

Buddhist Temple on Corinth and LaGrange. This yard is hall of fame material. Let's start with the tree. It looks like deer antler. The shape is great, the branches look fine, and it's a nice tree. This yard is groomed by the dream team of gardners. At least once a year, this yard is descended upon by at least a dozen Japanese American gardners. You see the trucks line up around the place, it's an amazing sight. Dudes in trees, on their hands and knees, not one leaf is left ugly. I missed it this year.

This tree needs a crutch. Years ago, a woman hopped the curb, and drove into this tree. It's injured. I once talked to one of the gardners who filled me in. He said the tree is dying, and the crutch keeps it up. Eventually, he said it will die from the injury. I'm sure the woman who hit it has no idea, and even if she did find out, she wouldn't care. I'm sure somehow, she thinks she was the victim.

As a kid, I used to throw the rocks in that yard. Imagine little kids (me), standing in there and running around. Can you hear the sound of the small pebbles crunching under your sneakers?

So in the foreground it's amazing, those bushes look like sea anenomes. Want to be the clown fish who wiggles around in it? The curved grass is perfect. See Shinran? See him? This yard is partially for him. The composition of the taller trees are perfect. It's as if the temple is in a forest.

I don't play golf but if I did, I'd T up here.

The Rock.
Close by the temple is this... It's like a bush with a rock pointing out. Is it a symbol of an island? Is it just a corner of a yard? Is it like a lighthouse near a drive way. I like this stone that jets up. The rest of the yard is just ok, but this rock. I give the yard a 6. The rock is a 9.

Trees and rocks.
This house did a great job on the trees and rocks together. It's as if they're bonsai being stunted in growth by rocks... I dunno. There's something about this that's relaxing. The fact that there's Dicondra grass makes this yard special. Someone takes care of this and is proud of it. I'd give this one a 8.5 It's a little messy from the winds we've been having. The grass isn't in it's best shape.

The Sahara.
Time to dig in. That's me on my bike... the shadow. I did this on purpose today. I dunno why. But this yard is either in progress, or they just gave up. It's as if it's abandoned, but it's not. The bushes look brown, the trees are a mess, and nothing is composed right. It's a mess. The dirt lawn is weird. And what are those things in the middle. Rocks? Are those supposed to be like the "Zen" rocks? Not. Also what's with the weird ridge, or "fault" in the dirt? Is that erosion? A 3. Even my yard has grass.

Junior Jungle.
This yard is just a yard. It's neither special or crappy, but it's messy. The tree on the right looks seriously unhappy. What tree's trunk almost goes horizontal? Ride em! There's weird round planters with weeds in them. The brick boundary doesn't do much, and see below.

A tree, straight the heck up, and more messy bushes behind it. I bet the owners couldn't name the plants they have in their yard or even how they got there... Hmm, can I do this with mine? Either way, this house is a 3.

This house is amazing. It's like a mirror image and it's two houses. See anything like this in your area? The one on the right has an american flag, and the one on the left has a chair in the porch. Both have weird green steps, which nearly make the duplex. I like the entry way, the woodwork, and the columns. I feel like the twins from the Simpsons should live here. The bushes and yard is as minimal as can be. I'm digging this. A 7.

I never noticed that there's a second ghost house. This is just a few blocks away. See the car port that's nearly overgrown? Down the car port, there's a small little house there! It's tiny. I guess it's the "garage." The yard here is intense, everything makes a canopy.

This is the front of the house, it faces east. But how did it have such bright lighting? Especially in the afternoon!? Look at that picket fence, the bushes are overgrown, there's no grass, the ground is crappy, and the house looks bad. I think it's boarded up.
See, the sun is behind, yet it's super bright. How's that possible?

Boom! It's like two suns. 1) it helps the yard overgrow itself. 2) it gives the house owner to have a reason to grow the canopy, since it's keeps a lot of the house in the shade. 3) good lighting all the time. 4) Extra heat! I think the same problem happened with the Disney Concert Hall. I wonder if they could get this place to do something to the windows. It's a weird circumstance.

This house has two trees. This one is a mess. What's up with the bark? It's molting or something! If I walked up, I could peel the bark off.

This tree is weird, it's as if there's no bark. It's nude, but it's weird, why the rock at the base?! The old tree and the young tree side by side. A 5.