For years, this small front yard in Oakland’s Maxwell Park neighborhood was not the happiest welcome home. The lawn had long died, the weeds took over, and the native clay soil just seemed to harden even more. Then one autumn, the owner sprang into action, ripping out the lawn himself, amending the soil with clodbuster, and building a retaining wall and planter box to delineate the front yard from the sidewalk. When he and his wife were ready to make plant selections, they contacted me for guidance.