Your Neighbors are Beginning to Talk…
We don’t want to tell you how we heard, but your front yard is looking rather shabby. We’re here to help. Well, ummm… we aren’t actually going to put on gloves and grab shovels, but we’ll tell you what to do. The first thing you need is a redwood deck. Head on over to Minton’s Lumber and Supply for wood and some expert advice. The guys that work here love answering questions about how to do it right the first time. Then you’ll need to install a cobblestone path, so go to the Mountain View Garden Center for the tumbled Arizona flagstone and sand. They’re right behind the BMW dealer and it’s actually more of a rockery, than a garden center. And for the finishing touches, you’re going to want to plant some shrubs and flowers along the fence. Located just across the street is Summer Winds Nursery. If you don’t have a truck to haul everything home for this front-yard makeover project, you can always go to U-Haul about a block away and borrow one. 
And if your friends are suddenly too busy to give you a hand, you can always go to the Day Worker Center of Mountain View to find a few hard-working men with landscaping experience. Good job! Yeah, it was a lot of work, but it’s nice to feel proud of your yard. And your neighbors can talk about something else for a change.
…and along those same lines, if anyone’s interesting in “urban farming”, take a walk over to Palmita Park (Loreto and Velarde St., between Bush and Calderon), especially Loreto, where many of the homeowners have planted some pretty fun veggie gardens in their front yards. If you have a chance to talk to any of the urban pioneers, listen up; they have all sorts of good (if not interesting) takes on how to make stuff grow in abundance (i.e., planting tomatoes with an aspirin or two!!). So, between some of the local nurseries and Minton’s, your gardening needs will be covered!! And if you’ve got some hefty work to be done, more than you can handle yourself, don’t forget to drop by the Day Worker Center for some really good help.
I just discovered that Summer Winds has a large “Native Plants” area. I’m certainly going to check it out next time I go…
The Day Worker Center does a really good job in training their workers and in turn matching them with the client. They are very organized and you can tell that they aim to please.
Ah, Mintons’s!! It used to be THE PLACE long before the world heard of big box stores, and its still a must-go-to-place. They have such high quality materials, their own mill where custom cutting can be done while you wait, and very knowlegable staff. Check ‘em out!!
As a landscaper, I can attest to the wonderful job Summer Winds does to meet the growing demand from a more demanding and educated public!! They carry a great inventory and they carry good growers (esp. Monrovia); the staff seem to know how to care for the plants properly until they leave the lot, unlike some of the big box stores, most of which haven’t a clue. Each Summer Winds has a slightly different focus/inventory, so if you don’t see something at one place, try another location.