"While many home gardeners don't know much about plant fertility (and thus many fertilizer makers organic and synthetic profit from their ignorance), I can assure you that anyone growing for profit understands it isn't all NPK." The difference is that miracle gro isn't organic and promotes the "chemical crystalline substance is all I need" mentality. Fish emulsion at least connects humans with the idea that organics = fertilzier...not....petrochem = fertilizer. That's how I see it. It leads to cultural misconceptions. Only now are they trying to promote organics, these synthetic fert companies. "So do organic ferts that come in plastic bottles and are trucked/flown/shipped from origin to destination. What's the difference between a synthetic high P fert and an organic one? In both cases the excessive phosphorous ends up in public water bodies choking the life out of them." There isn't a difference in overuse, only that, synthetics are easier to overuse for the avg joe. Neptunes is almost in my backyard, so I don't feel bad about buying it every now and then when I need a fert boost because I haven't gotten around to laying my organic waste or something. "One could use seed grains for fertilizer, but at this point most of them are GM seed from Monsanto, so how is that an improvement in terms of who is being supported with our dollars?" The idea is that the synthetic fert industry shuts off the public to ideas of using organic waste for our gardens.

Photos would help us help you. However, in general, if you tend to like neutral rooms but feel a need for a bit of color without going too bright, you can always use a toned down color in your accessories (pillows, table/wall decor, rugs, etc.). That way, you still get the soothing simplicity of the neutral colors you enjoy with a little interesting touch. Another safe and effective way of adding color is by simply adding greenery to a neutral room. In my experience, a few green plants are exactly what a neutral room needs to liven it up a bit.

Pictures would be helpful! And are you looking for exterior paint suggestions? Interior? For your bathroom, kitchen, bedroom?

I would not spend one cent on putting in grass or an irrigation system or any live landscaping whatsoever. It makes no sense whatsoever for you to spend your hard-earned money making improvements to a property that you do not own, and the money you spend can never be deducted from your taxes or re-couped in any way. Furthermore, the cost of water is prohibitive where you live, and watering a yard costs a lot of money. Once you put in a yard, you will have to maintain it, or it will look even worse. In the summer in southern California many places prohibit the watering of lawns for weeks on end because of water shortages and what you put in now will die. Right now, you were given a wasteland. That's what you need to give it back to the landlord as, unless your lease says otherwise. Please carefully read your lease and make sure he didn't slip something in about your putting in grass. If not, take multiple photos of the front and back and side yards that have the date on them, and and have the landlord sign them on the back, and you sign them too, and you keep a couple of copies and give a set to the landlord. I would add a codicil to the lease that both of you sign saying something like photographs are given to the landlord showing the current condition of the front, back and side yards with no living vegetation whatsoever and piles of dead vegetation. The lessee (that is you) bears no responsibility for planting these areas. As the dead vegetation is present at move-in of the lessee deemed a fire hazard it is the responsibility of the lessor (that is the landlord) to mitigate the hazard as soon as possible but in any event no later than 10 working days of notification of such hazard if it exists. And then you should contact the local fire house and have someone come out and see if the conditions constitute a fire hazard. If they do consider it a fire hazard, get it in writing on official fire department letterhead. Because if they do consider it a fire hazard, your renters insurance (do you have that by the way?) may not even cover your damages because they may consider it negligence. And do you really want to try to sue your landlord for the value of your posessions? And why should you have to pay someone to clean up the mess that previous tenants made? Did you clean up their dirty kitchen? NO So don't clean up their dirty and unsafe yard. For the Houzzers that are unaware, California is a tinderbox.