let it go wild and machete a path from the shop to the house.

I'd have a 'come and get it day' for people to dig out and haul off the perennials and pots of plants, leave the shrubs, put down bags of bark in the flower beds, and let somebody mow what little grass there is and somebody to pull a few weeds now and then.

My garden gives me a lot of pleasure. Good mulching would keeping the weeding down, and other than that, I plan to hire some garden help. To me, lawns are about equally as labor intensive as a lot of gardens.

Good question.

I'd have to get rid of quite a bit of my landscaping, to go maintenance-free. I made a lot of mistakes when we first moved here (12 yrs ago), especially with shrubs/placements of things.

So ... after that, I just wouldn't plant annuals, would have shrubs that didn't need trimming, no vines, no perennials that need heavy winter clean-up (Cannas, for example). I'd still have some perennials and flowering shrubs/trees. I'd focus more on container gardening, for color and interest.

I would let friends and family come and get it and then I would put in turf grass and just leave the fruit trees and plummies and bird fountains and feeders.

Interesting and sad ? For me. I guess I'd plant perennials so that they grow together thus suffocating weeds. No vines!!!!

i have lots of Tropicals in Houston and until this minute I hadn't though about all the cleaning they require. In good health, whacking/cleaning is part of the fun, but if unable to garden, Tropicals would def. be undesirable. (Silent prayer that I can do this for a looooong time)

We've already put in a row of plummies along one fence line so we're already working towards that end. If they die, then we find that it's really easy to cut stalks off for the next season. We're planning on planting the rest of the fence lines, too.

Our former neighbor built their house with an emphasis on low maintenance as he was retiring from his corporate career. Front yard had conifers for trees (no leaf raking), evergreen shrubs, and rocks instead of turf. Served them well for ~30 years. However, he did have sprinklers and a SA lawn installed to get top dollar when he finally sold.

Thanks everyone, you've given me a lot to think about. I'm having a tough time right now taking care of what I have because of an eye problem which seems to be getting worse. Bright sunlight is blinding. We're thinking this is the year to sell the house and if so, I need to continue with what I have and not rip it all out. If I weren't afraid of fire ants, I'd garden after dark.

A friend of mine has installed large lights on her house so she can garden at night. She is a night owl. Its not a sports field , its a gardener.

Missouribound, I'm sorry you're having problems with your eyes right now and wish you a speedy recovery so you'll be able to get back into the garden. Since we strung lights around the perimeter of the yard I find myself being able to do more after dark when it's cooler.

Your sentence, "We're thinking this is the year to sell the house and if so, I need to continue with what I have and not rip it all out." brings up another question. Does an extensive garden make a house hard to sell and if so what would be the best way to handle it? Perhaps that would be a good question to pose to some of the gardeners on here that are in the real estate business.

Thanks roselee. I don't think there is a recovery, but I'm praying.

Having an extensive garden didn't make our last house hard to sell, in fact, it sold quickly. But I noticed that the new owners mowed down most of the flower beds. Beds are too much work for people who work full time I guess.

I am really sad to hear this. Can you find any wraparound dark sunglasses to help with the glare?

I have a pair of sunglasses to wear over my Rx glasses, and if the light is really bright, or sunrise/sunset, I also wear those tinted plastic things they gave me at the dr office when I had my eyes dilated. In fact, I pick up one of those every time I go because I always forget to bring mine back. If worse comes to worse, I've thought of buying an eye patch. I'll find out in a couple of weeks if my current problem (macular pucker) is getting worse and if I'll have to have surgery for that too.

Same here as Pam.

My motto: "Gardening forever. Housework whenever"

Again Missouribound, we're wishing you well ...

If you want it really would it low key put in Mondo Grass and get rid of lawn. Mondo grass doesn't need lots of watering & you only need to mow 1 or 2 times a year.

Even better is some of our native sedges

I don't think a large garden hurts a sale and can help. My husband and realtor wanted to put our old house up for sale in February. Everything was cut back and brown. I said let's wait until the end of March because I knew the larkspur would be blooming, the roses budding, and there would be spring green, even if not blooming. It Sold in 10 days to a gardener moving from up north. I am happy to say she has done a great job with it the last 5 years.