Cohousing-L Mailing List: INterior landscaping

[MartyR707 (MartyR707]

We here at Jewell HIll in Sebastopol, CA are having a "discussion" on the use
of our interior common area and how to landscape it.  We have a number of
paved common areas suitable for play, a fenced kids play yard, a small lawn
area, a vegetable garden, a fairly large oak woodland, a few benches, a large
patio and BBQ off the common house, and 5' wide pathways throughout.  Our
current landscape plan shows much of the rest of the area in the central area
between our homes as fairly heavily landscaped with plants from 1 ft. to
around 4 ft. tall - a few taller ones here and there.  (Entire parcel is 2
acres, with fourteen units plus common house, so there's not a whole lot of
this space.)

The current debate centers on whether the landscaped area should have low
ground covers to allow more use and visual access, or be filled in with
bushy, colorful, flowering, low maintenance, weed preventing plants and tall
grasses.

We would like some ideas from existing communities out there (especially
small ones like ours) on how that central common area is used, how much of it
is accessible kid play area, and especially how is the area directly in front
of homes and front porches treated.  E.g. Is it nice to have kid play right
in front of your house, or is landscaping better there? and questions like
that.....

thanks as always for any ideas.

Marty Roberts, Jewell HIll, Sebastopol, CA
Where we still have three homes available - one for a low income family - and
we hope to break ground this spring/summer.