I mainly want to post this so I can have a good idea of the "before" of our yard and landscaping. I have planted a ton of plants but they are all so small and sparsely located that it really hasn't made a big impact yet, at least in the backyward.
I have ample planting dreams that arise from watching many, many British and Irish gardening shows.
This sunny area near the house will be for raised bed gardening. I am going to try and repurpose our two box springs into raised beds.
Orange County Extension gives away two free trees once every other month and I scooped up two slash pines and they are doing well.
We hope to put a chicken coop near that Norfolk Island Pine by the shed in the background.
My dream is to do big meandering beds around these large oak trees: camellias, azaleas, pretty much any shade loving plant.
These old rotting piles of logs will hopefully be a nursery to some edible mushrooms in the future.
The previous owners built an open tree house that I use as a hammocked reading spot. I am trying to grow jasmine and wisteria and passion flower up the beams.
I have a lot of work to do in some of the beds but they are coming along. I love the two cacti that were here when we moved it. Hopefully they will stick around.
I tore out a whole row of scraggly looking loropetalum and put in canna lilies. I might add some more butterfly attracting flowers there too. It's a work in progress.
Our lawn grass is not really there. It is more of a mixture of about 20 "weeds". But I don't really consider them weeds at all. We are trying to get away from the urban monoculture of lawns and allow a diverse population of plants to grow, hopefully more native than not. As long as it is mostly green I am happy.
I've had fun trimming the lemongrass and making tea. I also have rue, thyme, oregano, tulsi basil and rosemary in that pot. I hope to grow a wide variety of herbs and medicinal plants in the future.
The butterflies and bees love this porter weed. It might be one of my favorite things I have planted so far. Its antenna like wavy stalks of tiny purple flowers looks neat.
I have my rosemary by the door to greet friends and patches of lavender too. Is there any plant you consider a "must" for a garden or home to have?
Love all those trees and the reading spot! Rosemary and lavender grow really well here--great for pinching off a few sprigs for cooking and attracting the bees. I also love watching roses bloom and still have one of my mom's potted Disney roses that she had to leave behind when she moved to Orlando.
ReplyDeleteThanks! The trees are cherished by me for sure. I think Adam could do without them but I will be fighting for them as long as I live here. I am falling in love with rosemary and lavender for sure! I struggled with growing lavender from seed here (they say it is too humid) but I finally caved and bought full grown plants and they seem to have a better fighting chance. :-) I made some lavender tea a couple days ago. You are right, the butterflies love it! Roses!!! Yes!!! I am going to try my hand at those this summer. I have never heard of a Disney rose. How cool.
DeleteYour property is so beautiful and dreamy! It must feel so wonderful to be in that space. <3
ReplyDeleteI love all the landscaping and planting you've done thus far.
I love all your ideas for the future, especially the hopeful mushroom area! (I hope to grow mushrooms here, too). ;)
Thank you, April! I feel very happy to have some ground to stretch out on and plant inside of.
DeleteHere's to us in our gardening and mushroom growing dreams! (Herb gardens too!!!)