The front yard has never looked better, and so I thought I'd take a little "after" picture and compare it to the "before" pic, taken after we'd first finished landscaping. The first pic was taken Spring 2013, and the most recent one was taken today, almost exactly two years later.
It's amazing how fast shrubs grow. The trees are still on the small side, but now that they have spent a couple of years putting down roots, will probably start growing in height very soon. How does the saying about tree growth go? "Year One, trees sleep. Year Two, they creep. Year Three, they leap." This next year should be a "Leap Year," I hope so anyway. But no matter what, it is nice to see some greenery and growth when we look out our front windows.
Looks absolutely beautiful! I'd love to know what all is in there! The purple flowering mass in the back...is that nepeta? I've always found sleep/creep/leap to be true as well. Often if something doesn't leap in year 3, it's dead by year 4! Or needs to be moved.
ReplyDeleteThe purple blooms are Spanish lavender, which do extremely well in our climate. There are also butterfly bushes, torch flowers, rosemary, ceanothus, roses, coyote brush, santolina, euonymous, honeysuckle and jasmine. Lots of different things that don't require a ton of water!
DeleteAhhhh I break my own heart every year with Spanish lavender! I love its deep color but it hates everything about Ohio! French and English grow very well here though so I can't complain too much. Your roses look so so healthy. With all the humidity here we are constantly plagued by black spot and other fungi attacking the roses!
DeleteI often think how blessed we are to not have the humidity, but then again, you are green long after we are each spring, so we do pay a price for our dryness!
DeleteI gave up on roses for that reason. Whatever grows in our yard has to love it here!
DeleteVery nice. I'll keep that saying in mind as my orange tree will go into it's 3rd year at the end of the summer. Hopefully, if it fares through the winter, it will leap next spring & provide some much needed shade to deck in the afternoon sun.
ReplyDeleteI am so envious of you being able to grow an orange tree where you live. We are warm and sunny enough but unfortunately also too cold at night -- it's just too extreme here. I really miss citrus growing freely in the yard. Enjoy those oranges!
DeleteBoth pics look good. The first one is simple, neat and spare. But I love the added landscaping in the second.
ReplyDeleteMy brother lives in Arizona and I was surprised at the landscaping in his area. The yards were mostly comprised of pebbles with small cacti interspersed. I was envious of the fact that he never had to mow his lawn in summer or shovel his walk in winter! I think I could get very used to a dry climate.
Our summers, although beautiful, are hot and humid. The area where we live tends to be swampy, which means lots of mosquitoes. Weeds grow freely which keep us busy. We screened in our porch shortly after we moved there and can enjoy the outdoors without the pesky bugs.
I should also mention that despite the high water table, our yard is what I would describe as "lush". The front yard is landscaped, but the backyard is pretty much in it's natural state. The lot is heavily wooded, so we have lots of greenery. It attracts plenty of wildlife, which we are able to enjoy from our porch. And in the fall, the colors are spectacular.
ReplyDeleteMolly, believe it or not, there is actually no added landscaping in the second picture...it's just that the tiny plants have finally grown to where they can be seen! I have always wanted to live someplace like you do, with four seasons and surroundings that could be described as "lush," Maybe in retirement!
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