State of the Yard

Now that I've finished Twilight, I've decided it's time to take a break from book series so I can start getting some things done! (Unless you all know of some incredible series I haven't heard about, of course...) So, with my mind clear of vampires, werewolves, and wizards--this is what I've been thinking about: The Yard!

As I was doing some organizing in the room-o-boxes last week, I came across Animal, Vegetable, Miracle--a favorite from last year that I've been craving lately. I've been wanting to re-read it, not only for the reminder of their Italy trip, but also because I was so inspired to start gardening after reading it. Now that we've got the dirt to cultivate, it's time to find some motivation!

That pile of books got me thinking about this plot of dirt. I'd like to garden the closest half of the circle to get my feet wet.

I'll have to figure out how to safely transplant these loves:

But won't be the slightest bit sad to rip out these crispy critters!

While out back contemplating the garden circle yesterday, I was surprised to discover this madness:

Raf's been watering faithfully since we returned from our honeymoon (like a good little homeowner), but I had no idea that the "pond" in the back had gotten so green! (This thing has been nothing but dirt, concrete, and a border of dead grasses since we moved in.) Here's some of the random greenery up close:

How great are these little flowers that come out to greet us in the morning?! (Disregard the chewed up leaf--that seems to be one of the many plagues of our back yard.)

Across the path, these succulents are getting big!

And check this out--these vines came out from under the deck and are beginning to climb up the outside of the fireplace!

My favorite bush (that we promptly annihilated) appears to be making a comeback. This would be great news, except we're not sure if it's because of the times that we watered it in a different way (at the root, under the leaves) a while back, or because we're not watering it at all now. (It seems like it died after we started watering it originally...)

The state of the front yard is, quite surprisingly, a similar story. We bought a sprinkler a couple weeks ago. I think Raf used it once before reverting back to watering by hand. Kind of a waste, but the good news is something clicked and now he's out watering regularly. And thank goodness for it--I can't even remember the last evening I was home, let alone with watering top of mind!

So this is the macro view of the front yard. Pretty terrible, I know. The 2 plum (?) trees on the left are completely fried--they lost all their leaves a couple months ago--way too early to be normal. And all those rosemary bushes and other randoms in the front have definitely seen better days.

While the plum trees have lost their leaves, one does have this interesting new addition: pitch. In spots all over the trunk. Weird. I wonder what it means when a tree has pitch? Something tells me I don't want to know...

And while the majority of the rosemary bushes are still scorched, there are some very exciting new signs of life. Honestly, I thought these guys were irrevivable goners--but check out that one on the left--it's almost fully green!

And look--even on the brown ones, these little signs of life are sprouting up!

Elsewhere in the front, much is status quo. I continue to be grateful for all the drought tolerant goodness to be found, like the big bush outside our bedroom window...

...and my best friends: the wispy grasses.

The olive tree in the side yard shared with the neighbor is looking best. (I'm pretty sure they water over there!)

This fun little family of succulents seems to be looking up everyday:

And, to my amazement, I noticed some brand spanking new random green cropping up in the front yard. Maybe these guys are in the agapanthus family? Those seem to be the only flowers with a fighting chance with us as owners!

Special note for mom (who I'm pretty sure is the only one who read/was interested in this entire post): I planted the tuberose bulbs in a pot out front last week. Cross your fingers I didn't completely destroy them while breaking up the rootball! They seem to be growing (though I know they won't flower til probably 2011!), so I guess that's a good sign.

Long story short: evidently water really does do a yard good! I was really just hoping I could have the best of both worlds--water conservation and a thriving green space! Oh well...balance right?