Beginnings in the desert garden

My story in the Chihuahuan desert landscape begins with my purchase of a home on a small urban lot almost two years ago, but that certainly isn't the beginning. Ten years ago, before the area was developed, the land was likely chaparral scrub desert. Five hundred years ago, before extensive grazing, the area was likely a desert grassland.

When I arrived on the landscape, it had been cleared for a cute little house, and zeroscaped like so many other houses in the area with gravel mulch over black plastic in hopes of keeping the weeds at bay. These hopes were crushed.

In the west-facing backyard, the previous owners planted a bermudagrass lawn and pine trees around the perimeter. The bermuda became just as weedy as the gravel, but the pine trees served to block the harsh winds and shade the hot afternoon sun. They also poured a large cement patio.

To date, my work in the landscape has been largely maintenance. I have replaced the one pine tree fairing poorly with a pomegranate shrub. I have also replaced a portion of the lawn that did not grow well with a stone-look cement walkway and patio. There is a newly planted crepe myrtle along the path, and a swinging loveseat on the new patio.

Current problems:
1) The lawn requires a great deal of water and maintenance, aggravates allergies, and isn't really sustainable in the desert environment.
2) The backyard patio is hot and unusable during the summer months.
3) The backyard is a favorite roosting spot for doves and pigeons and their excrement further complicates the use of the area, especially the swing.
4) The front yard is aesthetically boring and offers no screening from the street.

This blog will be mostly a chronicle of my attempts to address these problems. I will likely blog more about my influences, but ideally this will be done in a largely organic, native plant, permaculture sort of way.