More Yard Pictures

Most of the year I'm spending the bulk of my time sweating outside watering the yard in the dead of the night, trying to keep everything alive. So it's nice this time of year to just take pictures and enjoy the sights and smells. Those days will be coming to an end soon, so I'm soaking them up.

My columbine have multiplied into two pots, and I have some others coming up in my big planter beneath some other groundcover. We'll see how these fare when the temps go up.

In the foreground, the monkey face plant continues to bloom away, with some jonquils in the background.

A closer look at the jonquils.

A view across the big planter at the indian and globe mallows, which continue to bloom.



The asian pear tree, planted as a bareroot back in December, has started to leaf out. It fruits in late spring/early summer, so in future years there is hope that we'll have some pears before the summer heat takes its toll on everything. I'm not so confident in my nectarine, which leafs out late and is supposed to put out fruit in August.

Some of the purple lantana that's thriving next to the house.

The golden fleece survived last summer and it never got cold enough to kill it back this winter, so it's already blooming all over the yard. I haven't bought these plants in at least five years, but they continue to reseed themselves all over the place, even in our harsh conditions.

Quick Tour Of The Yard

- Lilac Vine, Lantana, and Feather Leaf Cassia

- Assorted bulbs and other plants in the big planter

- Volunteer Love Lies Bleeding (or something similar)

- Iris, Narcissus and Wedelia

- Recently moved Bottlebrush Tree

- Pomegranate with bud, hopefully soon to be tasty fruit

- Calomonden loaded with hundreds of ripening fruit

- Arizona Dwarf Orange tree preparing to bloom

- Golden Fleece starting to bloom

- Up close Feather Leaf Cassia blooming

- Pomegranate next to the house starting to leaf out

- Valentine Emu bush continues to bloom (about four weeks in now)

- Silver Dollar Euc continues to grow upwards, thankfully not towards the powerlines (yet)

- Mulga taking off on the north side of the house

Feb Yard Update

With some recent rain and warm temps, the yard is coming alive.

Here is a two-bit tour:

- A view of the northwest side of the yard, blooming aloes, valentine emu bush, hardenbergia vine in the far background

- Another view of the same area of the yard

- One of the pomegranates leafing out, pretty maroon shade and very glossy, this plant is interesting year round. They apparently begin fruiting their third spring in the ground (after being transplanted), so hopefully this will be the year!



- Feather-leaf cassia (yellow) in the foreground, hardenbergia (purple) in the background. The cassia bushes smell like perfume when in bloom

- More blooming aloes with a bougenvillia (sp?) in the background

- Asian pear planted back in December, starting to leaf out. A bought one at the store the other day, and wasn't impressed with the flavor, had a nutty undertone like our jujubees, very juicy, but bland. Hopefully I just picked a bad one.

- Jonquil (sp?), I believe, blooming in the big planter box off the back porch

Early Spring

With temps in the 80s this week, the yard is blooming early.

Here is the hardenbergia, or lilac vine, typically the first thing to bloom in January, now in full bloom.

The Valentine Emu bush is a little early, but also in full bloom.

A couple of blooms are opening on the Indian Mallow.

And finally, the Globe Mallow, which will be covered in these blooms as March approaches.