I was looking at my daughter the other day, and for some reason, she made me think of my younger self and my mother. My mother was an avid gardener. She was a kind soul who would never judge a book by its cover, but she would always tend to our garden in the front lawn to give passersby and visitors a good first impression. My mother believed that landscape maintenance was the most important part of housekeeping. After all, the front of your home is what everyone sees, the whole world, no matter who ends up coming inside.

I also thought about my childhood neighborhood, a vibrant community of a collection of families who all welcomed each other into one another’s homes. We never had to lock the front door or think twice about giving the neighbor a set of keys.

These days, however, it’s like we’ve lost the one thing that keeps us all together: trust. You would think that in a world that is more connected than ever and more technologically advanced than ever, our world would feel safer. And sure, maybe it’s simply a matter of age. As an adult and even more so as a mother of children, you see the world completely differently than your younger, more naive self.

I do my best to keep up with the news, and one article I came across recently said something interesting about how outdoor spaces affect communities.

“A 2012 study by the University of Pennsylvania found that converting vacant lots into green ones, which consisted of grass and trees, reduced crime and made people feel safer.”

— Maintain lawn, save planet? Why landscaping matters | CNBC

It’s interesting and pretty obvious why communities are more pleasant with nature than without. No matter how far we’ve come as a species, at the end of the day, we are living, breathing organisms! We are the universe and the universe is all of us.

As a mother and work-at-home mom who is passionate about her life in San Diego, I believe in taking initiative and leading by example. I want my children to grow up in a home that is surrounded by nature, exactly like the one my mother cultivated for me. I recently decided that I wanted more than just a white picket fence: a brick driveway paired with a front yard that featured trees, flowers, bushes, and hedges. I hired the best San Diego Landscape company to advise me on the specific species of each type of plant that was compatible with the local water and soil conditions. I was also offered a landscape maintenance package to take the demands of every season off my shoulders and under the capable hands of the professionals.

I can, without a doubt, say that the experience has been totally worth the investment, from beginning to end. Not only do I have a beautifully landscaped front yard to enjoy with my family, I also have a treasured piece of my home that honors my mother’s legacy.

Torrey Pines Landscape Company
5560 Eastgate Mall, San Diego, CA 92121, United States