Yard Update

Below is a tour of the yard as of this weekend, covering as many things as I could in pictures. We've had a little rain recently and mild temps, so the yard is doing pretty well right now. It's supposed to be near 100 next weekend, however, we'll see where we are then.

This first picture is of all the plants on the back porch at the moment. My columbine seeds are doing pretty well, hopefully they'll get some legs before the heat gets bad. My herbs are still doing well. Also bought a lamb's ear, although I haven't had much luck with them in the past.




A mess of plants in this next shot, including three roses and three pepper plants (you'll see a pepper hanging off the front two). I left my rock fig out in the yard when it went down to twenty back in January, but it's coming back from the stump (in the white pot in this picture), very pretty plant, will post a close up picture when it gets a little larger (will probably have to bring it inside soon).

More recovery here in this planter, I had to cut my indian mallow (lower right) to the ground after the freeze, but it to is coming back quickly. The leaves on this plant are very soft and fuzzy and puts out beautiful apricot colored blooms in the spring. My asian lilies are doing well, and I hope to have some blooms on those soon (planter in the lower left).

Same side of the yard, looking down the south side of the house. The jubilee on the left don't even look like they were damaged by the freeze. I moved two more from another part of the yard to grow on the opposite side and they're doing well now that the sun is higher in the sky and they're not in the shade all day. In the foreground to the right are some more irises that haven't bloomed yet, and some hostas (more plants I'll have to keep an eye on with the heat coming).

Next shot is of a new bench I bought recently. Today I spray painted the umbrella stand and table to match the green in the bench. Well, the table top didn't survive my fury, and was shattered when I was trying to mask it. Luckily I had a hard plastic table with removal legs that's of not much use since one of the legs is broken, and the top of that table fit this other one. Phew.

We've been running the fountain at nights this weekend with the temps cool, leaving the house windows open so we can hear it. I can't run it much during the summer, the water evaporates out of it in two days when it's 115 degrees (no kidding).

One benefit of my poor bougainvillea (back left) dying to the ground is that I was able to prune it back and lay some bamboo screen behind it to cover that entire wall (you probably can see the panel that looks newer than the rest). Our chinese pistache tree has been doing well this spring, has grown about a foot. Yet another plant to keep an eye on come this summer, last year I forgot to water it after three or four days and the leaves browned up pretty bad. I then over compensated and over-watered it the rest of the season, giving it vermicullum wilt. It came back nicely in March, though, after I all but ignored it during the winter (when it went dormant).

If you're a devoted follower of Hoes, you know this tree will turn flaming orange in December, definitely worth the trouble for that color.

Here are the jubilee facing the other way on the same side of the house. You can see our Eucalyptus behind the house, top center of the picture.

This shot is from the back porch, facing north to the rest of the yard. I recently planted two pomegranates in hopes of forming a green screen, creating a little private area. Hard to describe when it hasn't grown in, but I have my plans.

BTW, this is the cleanest you'll ever see the flagstone look. I was too lazy to fill in the joints with grout, and opted for gravel, which gets scattered everywhere whenever I drag the hose around to water. If I'm lucky I get around to sweeping the gravel back in the joints once a month these days.





Here are the jubilee against the house, I had to cut them back pretty severely from the freeze, but they too have come back. Back against the block wall are our citrus, the lemon is doing very well, our grapefruit is holding its own, and the blood orange is dying for some reason (they're all watered and fertilized the same). I've planted two grape vines to grow along the walk as it goes around the corner to the north side of the house, hopefully one day forming another hedge of sorts.

This next shot is of our two blooming lantana bushes, these two were damaged by the freeze but came back nicely.

Heading around to the north side of the house (the shady side), we have a butterfly busy, a creeping fig vine that's attached itself to the house, and a mystery plant whose name escapes me (bluebeard or darkbeard something or other, it's covered in light blue flower clusters in the spring).




Five more rose bushes, all still alive, two of them have bloomed, and more will follow as the sun gets higher in the sky. My creeper trumpet vine was blown partially off the side of the house, where it had attached itself. I'm bummed about that, as they're near impossible to re-attach once they've come loose. At the far left is another grape that's done very well in the shade. I'm hoping to train it up the hobo arbor once it gets a little larger.

Yard Update

With temps in the 90's, the yard has been doing well, lots of new growth and blooming.

The first picture is of some odds and ends, seeds that have sprouted, etc. Starting in the brown pot and going clockwise:

- chocolate mint
- assorted herbs, including pineapple sage, lemon balm, spearmint
- love lies bleeding seed that sprouted in the same pot with my river bush willow tree
- more spearmint
- columbine
- dutchman's pipe (possibly the rankest smelling plant I've encountered)




Below are two hostas that sprouted recently from cuttings bought back in December. The third one was moved from the north side of the house.

Not sure what this bulb below is, a jonquil maybe?

Next bloom is from the passion vine on the south side of the house.

This is our ornamental pomegranate, meaning these blooms don't turn into fruit. I recently bought two that DO produce, and planted those this afternoon.

These last two pictures are of the evening primrose that comes up every spring in various places in the yard.