Any suggestion how I could landscape this area ?

[ellie]

Originally Posted by Cindydo

$200 for 2, 8 hour, days, I thought $12.50 per hour was pretty good because I am providing all tools and materials.

I have a picture of it here:
Welcome to PostaNeed.com! (http://postaneed.com/htm/view_post.php?rid=1254 - broken link)

I didn't realize you'd responded - sorry it took so long. For straight up labor and no thinking, $12.50 isn't bad. Like someone else said, you can probably find a student or a temporarily unemployed person to do it for you.

If you are asking someone who does that kind of work for a living, the price would be higher and the quality of work more reliable. Spreading dirt and laying sod isn't rocket science but there's more to know than "green side up".

But can you say that in Spanish?

Asking for design advice is a completely separate issue. A lot of people have offered their two cents worth. What you should do depends on more factors that we can see in the image. What's around it? Where's Calabasas? Are you subject to wildfire? It looks like it. Are you under a watering restriction? Looks like it. What then are your options?

What do you plan to do out there? What do you like? How much maintenance are you willing to provide? Are you willing to do it yourself? Or should you just stick with sod?

All that and another half hour from a real professional could cost you $200. But you might end up with something pretty interesting that would also make you happy.

[teatime]

The problem I run into with hiring for lawn care is it's difficult to find someone to come to do a job if you don't want them to come regularly. Most individuals and companies want to arrange for regular mowing and yard care and they're not interested in coming to do the odd project or occasional mowing. They want to arrange a schedule for a certain number of homes and come in specified time frames.

I have serious health issues but I can usually manage to get my own grass cut. LOL, it takes me days of doing a little bit at a time but I like to do it for the light exercise when I'm able. The heat keeps the grass from growing very fast anyway. But we went through a really hot spell recently and got periodic heavy rains, right about the time when my physical condition wasn't good and I couldn't mow even a little bit. OMG, I called three different individuals who advertised lawn care in the newspaper -- they all promised to come but only one showed up and he declined to cut my yard when he saw that it was higher than normal and that I didn't want him to come every week to flit over the grass.

I finally found a small-scale landscaper who would come. They did an excellent job on my yard yesterday for an affordable price and I am having them plan and landscape a section of my yard that I mentioned in another thread, too. I figure that if I pay them to do some things occasionally, they will continue to show up at the odd times when I need them to cut the grass. As I told the owner, I like fussing around my garden when I'm able but there are times when I need help -- it's just not on a weekly or even monthly basis -- and I would appreciate it if they could fit my occasional needs into their schedule. He agreed.

[crazyma]

Have you considered sowing it with a wild flower mix? Maybe using ornamental grasses. Any native plant materials, or stuff that needs low water.

[Cindydo]

ok, I love all the suggestions and I have decided to go with the ornamental grasses with a tea table in the middle on stone to make it look like the table is floating in a sea of grasses. Some white roses as a border to add a little timeless feel and plus they don't need much water like you guys were saying.

What do you guys think ?

Also I did get a couple of replies from my post and I found a couple of students off for summer break that really want to make a little extra money. Saves me money and makes them a little too.

I have a picture of it here:
Welcome to PostaNeed.com! (http://postaneed.com/htm/view_post.php?rid=1254 - broken link)