|
A Village in a Garden By Avery Harden
Backyards: trash So far, I have been talking only about the front yards and trees. Design principals apply equally to backyards. Many of us treat our backyard as though aesthetics were a non-issue. If not for your own benefit, consider your neighbor. If your neighbor sees it, it is important. An unattractive or even ugly backyard is rude. We practice being nice to one another at work and most other areas of the public realm but we are often quite rude when it comes to forcing our neighbors to look at our ugly backyards. I speak of the few. Most of my neighbors do quite well with their backyards but the few can spoil it for the majority. Trashcans need to be discussed. Trash is a necessary evil but it is not necessary to force our neighbors to constantly gaze upon our trash. Looking at a neighbor’s garbage is one time when I envy the nouveau-riche guy in a McMansion on top of a cornfield in the Valley. Those big bucks do afford the luxury of not having to view the neighbor’s gaggle of aquamarine colored trashcans overflowing with bags, pizza boxes and feasting crows. Rule number one on trash — own sufficient garbage can capacity to fully contain one’s garbage. Rule number two — less is more. Get one or two big cans instead of two or four small cans. Believe me, it just looks better. It is also probably cheaper and minimizes the cumbersome chore of stuffing big bags and large square pizza boxes into small round cans. Rule number three — get cans with a dark earth-tone color. The darker the better. Dark tends to "disappear" in the landscape minimizing unattractiveness. Why do you think black clothes are so popular? Aquamarine may remind you of that great cruise you had in the Caribbean years ago but it stands out like a sore thumb in the back alleys of Loch Raven Village. Aquamarine is also an inappropriate color for sheds and tarpaulins. Rule number four — camouflage the trashcan area to the extent possible with shrubs or something. The less we see of our garbage, the better. I know everybody won’t go out and buy new trashcans, but at least consider the issue and do what you can. Remember, think about your neighbors and practice aesthetic courtesy. By the way, I do not claim to be in 100% compliance with my own dictates. I have some work to do and some money to acquire before I fully comply. I have an embarrassing loose gutter making me look like a deadbeat at the moment. I will get it as soon as I can afford to buy another ladder to replace my brand-new stolen one. I need to fix the gutter and do a number of other facade chores. My next ladder will be well locked down — what a scoundrel to take my new ladder before I hardly get to use it. My innocence repaid with scorn. They will have to cut my nice tree down to steal my next chained-down ladder. |
