Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Monday, February 9, 2015

Friday, February 6, 2015

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Backyard Evolution: Growing








January, February, March 2013...last photo is January 2014.

We've had a few plants die; due to the ongoing gopher wars (loyal readers know what I'm talkin' about), we planted in gopher baskets. Unfortunately, the plants don't really seem to thrive in them (root bound?) so we're not using them as we replant. We shall see!

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Backyard Evolution: In Progress

This is November 2012...cameo by Tallulah Mae!

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Backyard Evolution: After




Here is the new backyard (dating from October 2012), in progress. Way different, no?

Monday, February 2, 2015

Backyard Evolution: Before

 When we moved into our house in 1999, the backyard was...um...quite something. There was a somewhat decrepit greenhouse from the potting shed (below) to about 7 feet from the back of the house; there was a koi pond right at the back steps as well as a little waterfall. The aesthetic was definitely Asian/Japanese. My tastes run more to cottage/Mediterranean, so it all had to go. And it did, down to bare dirt. Above is the result, after a few years, of the initial re-do. I loved it! (Please excuse the blurry scan up there--I also have physical photos of the yard when we moved in, but I'm too lazy right now to scan them!)
 But, as gardens will do, it became overgrown in some places (I hate to prune--it hurts me to whack a living thing down) and bare in others.
 This monster is plumbago. There is a fence under there, believe it or not.  I can't recommend plumbago except perhaps growing wild-ish on a hillside.
 Nice trees (redbud and bay)...
 A ridiculous buddleia that grew to seven feet tall and almost that big around. Oops!
And scrubby, weed-filled grass (this was intentional, to let everything go just before it was all ripped out for the second re-do)...

Stay tuned!