Today’s walk was through a mostly 1990’s vintage subdivision outside of Man O’War at Todd’s Road.  The area is anchored by a large property at the corner of Todds and Forest Hill Drive.  I really enjoy these older properties in neighborhoods which are often surprisingly modern.  Unfortunately, this one is well hidden!  But the property looks neat.  Something else that occurred to me was that the infrastructure issues seen on day 7 have largely been ironed out (it seems) by the time this area was built out.  No cul-de-sacs over culverts here; the cul-de-sacs all end at a similar greenspace though.  Prior to walking, I suspected the forested area on the perimeter was stormwater-related.  But this possibility seems unlikely after viewing at eye level as the roads seem to drain away from it; the infrastructure hidden here is something different!  Speaking of drainage, I noticed a number of driveways that drain toward their respective houses. This seems almost intuitively to be a bad idea but it seems common here with the slab-on-grade construction.

I was most focused today on front yards today, hoping to see neat yard solutions.  Front yards seem universally kind of…neglected.  They are mowed (or not) but largely they seem to be a patch of grass with no real reason for being.  Of course, homeowners associations will limit the breadth of things that can be done.  But I do expect to see some interesting things, especially in “covenant controlled” neighborhoods like my own.  I think we can do better.

And I do see, in maybe one or two houses per mile or two I walk each day, really well-landscaped yards that I suspect take quite a bit of work and or artistry.  These yards are nice, of course, but I’d really like to see the aesthetically not-bland yard for the rest of us.

Today’s walk did reveal a pretty earnest front yard garden with tomatoes, melons and some other vines that were generally kept inside the mulch ring around their trees (as much as you can restrict a zucchini plant, anyway).