How Green is Your Subdivison?

If there is one thing that has kept me out of subdivisions, it is the covenants. From weed vs. native plant and height of grass and their landscaping ideas, the whole business gives me problems.  So it is perhaps as well that I proudly hang my laundry outside, and my realtors spend their hours finding places that are outside the community setting. 

Other things in subdivisions bug me too.  The obsession with lawns that look like golf greens.  Now green is a restful color to look at, and lawns can be pleasant to walk on, but most people view their landscape from the back door, or the deck and rarely go out into the garden anyway.  Curb appeal is much enhanced by planting shrubs that give year round color and cutting back on grass is a wonderful start to a more environmentally friendly garden.