We really like this neighborhood. The people are very friendly and there are two common swimming pools, volleybal & basketball courts, walking trails and kiddie playgrounds. It's a lot of fun and a great community. It's out in the boonies a ways, so we do get some wildlife here. I've seen javelina, coyotes, roadrunners, and rabbits. We are getting used to the cactus and gravel everywhere.
My two favorite things about the house are the balcony and the outdoor kitchen. We get a pretty cool view of the mountains and the amazing sunsets from our balcony. Tucson has the most beautiful sunsets, they are phenomenal. The outdoor grill speaks for itself. We just need to do some landscaping in the back, and that is at the top of our list. We just need to figure out what/how to do it! Any suggesions? Here are some pics of the house and our views:
7 comments:
Two words: Swimming pool. J/K
Real ideas. Some arbor type thing like this then I would have bougenvilla or wisteria all over it. http://www.landscapingideasonline.com/patios_decks/pictures/Patios_Decks_Porches_17.php
Here's another link to something similar. http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/landscaping/article/0,1000141,HGTV_32659_5942538_03,00.html
Maybe some kind of fire place fire pit area. http://www.hgtv.com/designers-portfolio/room/country/outdoors/1691/index.html?dir=%3CSPAN%3E%3C%2FSPAN%3EPrevious&type=space
How about a pond or some cool water feature?
I would definitely do a lot with hardscaping, winding paths, cool boulders and colorful gravel areas to minimize work and water needed in the Arizona desert. Of course a nice patch of grass or some kind of a play area for the kids is a must.
This is a neat example of embracing the desert. http://www.hgtv.com/designers-portfolio/room/southwestern/outdoors/1658/index.html?dir=%3CSPAN%3E%3C%2FSPAN%3ENext&type=style
I love that sunset. Wow! Lara gave you some great ideas. Good luck in your big landscaping effort.
Tucson is great. The Arizona Sunsets are part of what sold us on living here. We are still planning on coming down to see you guys sometime soon! Hopefully within the next few weeks! I would consider rock around the perimeter of your yard and grass in the middle. A sprinkling system is almost a must. It just gets too hard to keep the grass green otherwise. Pools are awesome, but maybe too much worry when your kids are so little. It worked out well for us to put in our pool when our youngest was 6 or 7 and a good swimmer.
Congratulations on your new home! So exciting. Looks nice:)
Great backyard too!
Thanks guys! We really considered a swimming pool at first. But the initial cost is so high! They are around $20,000 just to put one in. Then there is the regular maintenance costs. Sadly after you invest all of that, it adds zero equity to the house. But our biggest deterrent, like Lezlee said, is the fact that we have little kids. I could never live with myself if something bad happened in the pool. But that is why we bought in the neighborhood where we did because there are two community pools here.
We definitely want to do some grass and some fruit trees. We are thinking about some kind of brick pavers making a path and creating a place for a swing set or something like that.
Lezlee, pleae come visit! I've been meaning to contact you guys about that and invite you down. I'll send you a message later to try and work something out.
I would imagine that a pool would be too much $$$. What about some kind of a pond or something? You could have some huge saguaros back there... gotta love AZ! Mitch says that Tuscon sunsets are amazing and that's what he misses about living there.
I like your house Julie! Sorry, my landscape ideas are for Portland weather, not Tucson weather...could they be any more opposite?? :-) Have fun though!
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