OldGardener's blog: Backyard re-do

Posted on Jun 9, 2014 7:29 PM

5/31 'Thought I'd start keeping a record of this project and am kicking myself that I did not get "before" photos. Needless to say, it was an overgrown jungle before... so... here goes:

Looking toward the area that is being cleaned up. This is view directly from the family room:
Thumb of 2014-05-31/OldGardener/c5ba90
Hmmm, the trees don't typically feel so overwhelming in height.

A close up perspective of "the pool room/workshop/feed room" after the plants had been lifted and the old grass removed. This is actually a 2-story building from the other side - 2 horse stalls and a tack room are below :

Thumb of 2014-05-31/OldGardener/c87dfc Thumb of 2014-05-31/OldGardener/147763 Thumb of 2014-05-31/OldGardener/5aeea1

This section of backyard runs primarily north to east so it remains fairly shady throughout the day.


6/2 Yesterday, the pool/spa heater caught fire (oh joy - there goes some of the landscaping funds) and we had another 4.2 earthquake last night so I am using that as my excuse for a slooow morning. We only planted 2 bananas today but my hubby and I walked the project and now, thanks to the walk and all of the helpful folks on the "Tropicals" forum, we both have a much better idea of what we want to do. I did not realize that my love envisioned grass everywhere but we have compromised and are going for "Formal Tropical" -- if such a thing even exists.

The bones of the garden are Banana Trees, Eucalyptus and palm trees and we are planting/transplanting/ agapanthus, gingers, bougainvillea, jasmine, grass and ajuga throughout the yard for some consistency (we will be adding back some fatsia, philodendron, etc., too, to break up any monotony). When we get to the front yard (south side), we will switch to hibiscus and birds of paradise in place of the shade lovers. We have some nice Morea lilies that have really clumped up over the years so we'll get those divided and use them, too. Our goal is to incorporate as many of the plants that are already on hand to save $$.


6/8 The stepping stones have been re-installed, drains and sprinklers checked, so the fun part begins. My dearest husband is a more visual person so I put this together using Paint:

Thumb of 2014-06-09/OldGardener/801e6e Thumb of 2014-06-09/OldGardener/e9c5e9

Hopefully, the real garden will look a lot better than the drawing. I have to admit, though, it is so much easier to re-arrange plants on paper than in the actual garden!

Sod is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday or Thursday, a few filler plants are arriving later this week, and I hope to find that the remaining ground cover has been delivered by the end of next week..


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Painting Pictures by chalyse Jun 10, 2014 9:52 AM 2

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