Strawberry Fields Forever & Ever

In one of his lives, my son-in-law did landscaping. (I can believe it! When he and my daughter lived in PV, he did an absolutely elegant front yard consisting almost entirely of native penstemon. )

He tells of a rich Dallas lady who had very definite ideas of what she wanted and didn't want. I have to admit that her idea for suitable ground cover is the best I've ever heard: strawberry plants. After all, they are a bright green and put out lots of runners; within a year they should cover any bare spot if they aren't spaced too far apart.

Of course in the wrong neighborhood that could be dangerous. My late husband shattered his heel doing a Superman leap off a high landing to chase away some little kids raiding my berry crop back in Chicago.

When we bought a second house in that city, the previous owner had given his dogs the run of the back yard. I put a handful of transplants into the ground and the next year and every year after that, we had a strawberry shortcake fest in June.

If you figure on planting strawberries in our pitiful soil hereabouts, be sure you get the ever-bearing variety to avoid a late frost. I guess strawberries should be happy here, if they don't dry out as mine do -- after all, wild strawberries do grow up in the Bradshaws.

(Note: to see some awesome landscaping work, click over to Splendid Pictures Around the Net...)