Front Yard – Advice on beauty without watering and fertilizing

“Americans have long treasured a well-tended lawn. But a small, if determined, movement would replace vistas of unrelentingly green front lawns with at least pockets of exotic flower and vegetable gardens that not only are feasts for the eyes but sources of cheap veggies, too.No statistics exist, mainly because the movement so far amounts to little more than a persistent dandelion. But largely because of an art project to turn a front lawn in Salina, Kan., into a so-called Edible Estate, it is gaining widespread publicity through the Internet.” – Paul WenskeI have this patch o’ grass in the front and another small patch in the back of my yard. I spend a lot of money watering and fertilizing each year. Truth be known, I pay a landscape guy to keep the place looking spiffy. But for three months a year, the front turns into a straw farm. Brown, unhappy the grass just dies unless I pay hundreds of dollars to water it. This I refuse to do.So I’m looking to find a solution to the front yard. The back is green all the time because it is protected by trees. Suzy wants to plant a bunch o’ trees in the front. I’m toying with replacing the grass with clover and other drought resistant stuff that only needs to be mowed once a year.The Germans, where Suzy and I lived for around five years, luv to plant every inch of their fenced, front yards with flowers, fruit trees, and the like. But then they are wont to spend hours tending their spaces and making it beautiful. I’d like to find an almost maintenance-free solution that will not put the neighbors up in arms.So my gardening friends, what say yea? What would you do?