The park in which I purchased my MH has generously sized lots, which is, I suppose, a blessing and a curse. Residents are responsible for the maintence of their yards. The park is located in a rural area, literally surrounded by farms. Maybe because of this, many yards are neglected.

About six months ago, ownership of the park changed hands. The new owner has started enforcing park rules, and has especially cracked down on two things, one being yard maintenance. (The other being the two pets per household rule.) I like this. I don't want to live in a park where the yards look shabby and where cats and dogs run rampant.

Unfortunately, the MH I bought has perhaps the worst yard in the park. It is basically dirt and lots of long weeds. So I'm going to have to do something pretty immediately. I don't want to be a bad lot renter and I don't want to be a bad neighbor.

I have three constraints. One, I have rheumatoid arthritis and I eventually want a yard that is low to no maintenance. Two, I'm on a budget. There are a lot of things I want to do to upgrade my home and I don't want to spend money on the yard that takes away from my ability to get a new roof, so to speak. Three, I'm trying to do my bit to save our environment, and thus I don't want to spray a ton of poison all over the place to get rid of the weeds.

So I've done a bit of research and have come up with a nearly free way to kill the weeds without chemical weed killers, and a nearby free way to get all the lava rocks and other rocks my heart desires. I figure if I can get rid of all the weeds and cover the yard with attractive rocks, it will be ten times better than what's out there now and will hold me until I can afford to start putting in drought resistant plants and ornamental grasses as I can afford to do so. I eventually want a vegetable, herb, and fruit garden in one area in order to grow organic produce at a much cheaper price than buying it at the grocery store. That's another reason I don't want it sprayed with poison.

So I thought I'd share with you what I'm doing in hopes it might help someone out who may be in a similar situation. And I'm really open to any suggestions from you all as far as any other cost and environment saving measures you may know about! Basically, I want my yard to be attractive, drought resistant, and low maintenance, and I don't want to spend one penny over what is absolutely necessary to achieve that goal.

So, I just heard about a great weed killing method that costs only what it costs to boil water. It turns out that weeds don't like boiling, scalding water poured on them any more than we do. Pour scalding water over them and they die within 24 hours. Easy peasy.

Next, I turned to my old friend, Craigslist. It turns out there are a ton of people begging for people to come haul their rocks away. Who knew? Every day there are multiple listings in the "free" section for rocks. Lava rocks, regular rocks, crushed glass, big giant rocks, you name it. Just come and get 'em! Unfortunately, I don't have a pickup and am not physically able to shovel rocks from a farm and then shovel them onto my yard. I'll need to hire a couple of guys with pickups. Again, Craigslist is my friend. Unfortunately, wages are low and unemployment is high, so I'll have no trouble hiring some guys for a fair price to do the work.

And there you have it. Extremely low cost solution. As I'm financially able, I'll start putting plants in amongst the rocks. I'll find a bargain way to do this, just a few plants at a time. If anyone knows a cheap or free way to get drought resistant plants and ornamental grasses, please let me know. In a few short years, I'll have a yard that will do the park proud, and I won't have to spend much money to do it!