Here's how it's looking currently:
We still need to throw down decomposed granite, pull some stray bits of grass as they emerge, add a dry creek bed for rain barrel overflow, work on the path, and fill in right next to the house. However, it looks better than it did last year:
The Italian cypress trees have managed to correct themselves with a little help from a few tomato cages. One got topped, but it's returning from a surviving branch. One other died outright but won't be replaced as it's not a critical area to fill.
Even last year, the yard was better than when we first moved here, and there was only a declining purple vitex, a horrible cedar, and some awful grass:
I'll go through the plants in the new garden tomorrow (lots of natives and well-adapted plants). Or maybe I'll show the amazing tomato-hoop-house-trellis which we completed this weekend!
It takes a long time to re-do a yard and make it your own, but this new side garden looks like it has good bones. Can't wait to see the plants.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I threw the "bones" in first such as the Italian cypress trees and other big plants, so now I can look forward to filling in with the smaller plants with flashy flowers.
DeleteSide yards are not my favorite too because I realize no one goes over to that no man's area to maintain. Myself included. My own cutting garden has to make it on its own and I found out how the fittest survive and thrive firsthand, as a few plants dwindled without care in the face of those that could withstand the conditions. But, it is fun to plan, always with great expectation too.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, this isn't a no-mans-land since it's in the front of the house, but it is a no-mans-land since it's a thin strip with broiling hot sun overhead. It'll be interesting to see what lives.
DeleteTry using a soaker hose to keep the new bed watered until everything is established. Have you ever been to the blog East Side Patch? Only the moon is more xeric than his garden and his stuff thrives. Have fun with the new bed. :o)
ReplyDeleteThanks! I've selected some tough plants, but I fear the summer of 2011 which was unfortunately the year I was watering over on that side to establish the trees - there was no avoiding it unless I was willing to risk shallow roots (hells no!) or dead plants and wasted energy/water. Thankfully, the efforts paid off as I now think they're all established with roots going deep into the ground, but guh, buh, I hated watering over there because I'm a scrooge and didn't want any of my water getting onto my neighbor's lawn.
DeleteAlthough I could have used a soaker hose... but I haven't had the best of experiences with them.
DeleteI was wondering how you got the video in comments on my GA blog. I tried to put in an image to show High Pass to a commenter, using the right code, and WP stripped it out. I could not figure out how the video appeared on GA.
ReplyDeleteWeird, it shows up as a link for me. I just did a simple test in the comments, and it looks like HTML/BBCode gobblety-goop without any of the results. I suspect there's a way to do it since you have admin privileges, but since I don't use WP, I have no idea. Probably best to check the WP forums is all I can think.
DeleteThanks for trying. I tried too and it just shows as IMG. I know the right code, but WP strips the code in comments. It is for security reasons. On a WP.org blog I can get a plugin to allow it. I want to change over, but have not had the time yet. I just edited the post to show the High Pass image. I did not want readers to think this filter is a cure all for macro shots.
ReplyDeleteThanks for deleting the comment!! WP is a mystery. There has to be a way to do it, but it might involve going to the source code.
DeletePerhaps you should do a post on what factors affect focus?