I was born in Phoenix and have lived in Maricopa County my entire life. When I was a child we lived in Maryvale and everyone had grass lawns, front and back. We would go to visit family and friends that lived twenty miles away in any direction and everyone there had grass lawns front and back. Later we moved to the Moon Valley area and everyone had grass lawns, we did not begin to see desert landscaping or now xeriscaping in a big way until about twenty years ago, it was mostly billed as being low maint. as far as upkeep not, necessarily low water usage. We did learn in school that it was not good to waste water leave the faucet running, wash your car in the driveway, just general wasting of water, but never did that have to do with your lawn you just were not supposed to let the water run into the gutter. It seems funny to me to think that people think having lawns is because of us having a transient population, because as a child the only people that had desert landscaping were the transplants from other states. It also seems funny that people think having a lawn is a waste of water. Is having your garden a waste of water? You could save that water by rolling to the store and purchasing all of your fruits and veggies. No, of course it isn't a waste, you get the benefit of the enjoyment of growing your own food, and growing something that is better than what you can get at the store. People get the same enjoyment out of their lawns, so how can it be a waste. Of course you should be responsible with your water usage as with everything else. I am not sitting here spraying water into the street, I am spraying it on my lawn, have fun walking on and laying around in your rocks. Tell your neighbors to mind their business or give them a little shower next time. This post was edited by CaptainInsano on Tue, Jul 30, 13 at 12:09

And don't forget, they moved Memorial day! It used to be May 31st; now it's a week earlier. Last year I made the mistake of putting my started plants out on the "new" Memorial day and had a few plants tinged by a light frost. I'm going back to the "old" Memorial day, at least for gardening purposes.

Okay, you all shamed me into this, I went to Photobucket and downloaded pictures from today. The sun is finally shining. There is not much to see in my gardens as they are still waking up from winter but you will see the layout. I also have pictures from my stained glass class I am taking. I am making a garden bench and tonight I put it in the form, they will pour concrete in it tomorrow. It will be lots of fun to have. I am thoroughly enjoying this class. http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t68/diene_photos/readytopour.jpg http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t68/diene_photos/shadysideofhouse.jpg http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t68/diene_photos/newgarden2.jpg http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t68/diene_photos/newgarden.jpg http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t68/diene_photos/House.jpg http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t68/diene_photos/lastyearsgarden.jpg http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t68/diene_photos/mailbox.jpg http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t68/diene_photos/formforbench.jpg http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t68/diene_photos/gardenbenchinprogress.jpg http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t68/diene_photos/frontyardleft.jpg http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t68/diene_photos/frontyardright.jpg Man that was alot of work but here are my pictures. Hope everyone is well. diene Here is a link that might be useful:

I don't share your view about SF weather being unique, much of coastal NorCal is the same. In the city, the incessant breezes over most of the districts provide lots of fresh air. Unfortunately the fresh air is too often cool and damp. Of the two nearby houses I know, both are about 40 years old. Both are built on slab foundations, not all that common here. One had a leak, maybe 15 years ago, that was a mess to find and fix. The other works fine, it's my friends' house and I'm there a few times a month. They aren't the original owners, they bought the house as it is. They like it very much, I've had several discussions with them about it since it's somewhat unique. They don't touch the thermostat, leaving it on all the time during the winter. They will turn it down only when they'll be gone overnight, because otherwise the warm up time is so slow. I don't know if the same boiler also produces hot water for their house, that's one feature (called an indirect water heater) that's more common in the colder (and older) parts of the US where hot water heating is very popular. If you like to open windows for fresh air and then want a relatively fast warm-up afterwards, radiant heating may not be the best choice. What kind of heating does the unit have now? You might get more comfort by spending less on the heating system and using the savings to beef up insulation and air sealing. If you're set on hot water heating, it might be cheaper and more flexible for you to use radiators.