Update from Moroxico

 
The ForwardDallas initiative has recently sparked some controversy. So, it doesn’t make sense for Covington’s Nursery— my family’s BUSINESS, which is located in Rowlett, not Dallas, no less — to take a stance on these political matters. This is just my small, personal contribution to the conversation, as a longtime resident of Little Forest Hills and someone who values residential beautification and maintaining a high quality of life in all burrows of our metroplex.

Without going into too much detail, a few explanations:

I currently live in a 400-square-foot guest cottage on the back of my property while a new house is being built in front of it.

I call this little cottage “Moroxico,” because the interior uniquely combines Mexican and Moroccan influences. (But that’s a whole separate story for another day!)

Furthermore, it’s helpful to know there used to be an old house in the exact spot where this new one is being built, which we carefully demolished.

I say “carefully,” because the challenge was to tear it down WITHOUT damaging the any of the huge, beautiful trees or destroying my existing, well-established, backyard landscape.

As you can imagine, my contractors and construction crews love the fact that the homeowner and designer of the project is an insufferable perfectionist who lives right on the construction site. 🤣🤣

(Seriously, it must be their worst nightmare!)

MY worst nightmare, however, would be seeing all these old trees destroyed— along with the soul of our beloved LFH neighborhood— to make room for multi-unit housing or more gigantic McMansions that are determined to build to the maximum capacity of the lot size and fill every possible inch of the property with a structure.

You can’t maximize profits AND keep the old trees, this much is true; but there are creative and highly rewarding alternatives.

Stay tuned!

With the help of @Covingtonnursery landscape designer, Steve Malone, over the next several months I am going show you how to turn a relatively small front yard into a magical courtyard oasis. While maintaining neighborhood integrity, we are going to value outdoor living and quality of life over sheer home size. We are going to maximize the BEAUTY of the property, not just its profit potential.

😕 If the improvement of one group of people’s quality of life comes at the expense and unhappiness of another’s, then it’s not a great plan. 😕

And at risk of sound like an idealistic hippy, happiness isn’t measured in square footage, and these old trees made Little Forest Hills their forever home long before I chose to make it mine. 😉

So, in a very real sense — 🌳 Let’s Grow Together! 🌳

–Ryan Covington