Can’t say I miss the dirt

So, it will probably come as no surprise to anyone that my gardening skills are non-existent. I went through a phase a few years ago (10, to be exact), when I wanted a real yard with, um, plants and stuff? So I spent a lot of money on tools and plants only to break and kill most of them. I also spent a lot of hours in Home Depot and, to this day, really can’t bear to go in there. (One of my least favorite memories involved a cashier needing a price check on the “Super Ho” I was buying and yelling “I’ve got a Super Ho at Register 5” very loudly over the intercom.
Anyway.
The boy, unlike me, likes to DO STUFF when he’s not working (versus lie on the couch reading and speaking to no one). And he really wanted to pretty up my yard, disagreeing with my assessment that dirty can so be pretty if you just adjust the way you think about these things.
I was worried about him doing anything because I worry about water use (I specifically worry about ending up as a high user in our annual water use story). He convinced me he wouldn’t use a lot of water and then, lo and behold, it RAINED all summer and he barely needed to use any.
Now summer is closing up shop, or whatever it does, and soon the yard will be cold and wintery, although he promises me that this summer lays the groundwork for next summer. Anyway, I think it looks awfully pretty (so does the neighbor, who apparently told the boy over the fence “that yard looks better than it has in 10 years.” No one respects the dirt, apparently.