(Note: plants and pets should be vacated from premises.)I don't understand the science so you'll have to google it yourself.

They have made a mess on the back porch by attempting to grow plants out there and they are all dead and scattered everywhere. 

You have to till the soil, fertilize it, plant the seeds and water them before you can pick the harvest.

Surely that's not the whole yard, you might plant a low maintenance ground cover around the tree, but do somethng!

The editor of the newspaper who is a different neighbor-I see under the classified ads a picture of my porch and my live plants that she used in her newspaper without asking.

powerwasher. that residue is hard to clean. i know because i used to have a small powerwashing business. there are chemicals that are harmless to plants/people, but super effective on that stuff.

(boring is the wrong word but i hope you know what i mean).more on the landscaping...i'd have any bushes or plants in front line up to be the same height.  

I believe there are only one or two processing plants in the country.

Imagine how many seeds you can plant if you put a 30 year mortgage on those properties, leaving 30% equity in each, taking that cash, and putting down 20-25% on a handful of other properties (or small multi-families) and what those “seeds” would grow to be in a few short years...Leaving homes paid off, in my opinion, are for those who don’t have much life left to live...

I like to see cut grass during the summer, raked leaves during the winter, and I especially like if they have taken the time and effort to plant shrubs, plants and flowers.