No time to write lately. My energies have been consumed with landscaping. Here are the results thusfar. Again…I know that most of you don’t care about my yard. I’m really posting this for my parents and some friends.
This is the front yard, which I landscaped and planted in April. My-oh-my, how my little sprouts have grown.
BTW…that’s an almond tree in the foreground and an olive tree in the background.
Same front yard from the other direction.
This is the side yard. I did the lay-out this weekend. Ahem…ALL weekend. I’ll spread dark-gray pebbles (same as those in the front yard) over the landscape fabric next month. I’ll plant various drought-resistance aromatic bushes (lavender, thyme, rosemary, santolina and sage…same as in the front yard) next Spring.
BTW…that’s a fig tree.
Same side yard, from the other direction.
This is the far corner where my two side yards meet. I’ve ear-marked this large hunk of dirt as my daughter’s vegetable garden–in the hope that by growing her own vegetables, she might actually eat vegetables.
I refer to that patio space in the foreground as “The BBQ Lounge.” BTW…that’s not a UFO sitting in The BBQ Lounge. It’s a good ol’ American firepit–bought at a Chicago-area KMart and hand-carried across the Atlantic Ocean.
And finally…my other side yard. This is a Weber Grill’s-eye view.
In case you’re wondering why I don’t have a blade of grass in my yard, that’s a good question. The entire yard used to be grass, but it would die like clockwork each May-October. The Iberian sun has a real mean streak.
That’s why I opted for this desert rockscape instead. It’s low maintenance and (IMO) looks kinda good. So if anyone wants to buy my house, the price just rose considerably this weekend.
And now…would somebody please give me a back and neck massage?
Sal – Come on over and I’ll walk on your back for you.
Sal,
I hear ya buddy. Our yard was nothing but a steep hill covered in poison ivy when we bought our place. I donned a tyvek painting suit, balaklava and gloves and ripped out all the vines then covered the area with weed cloth and stone. I moved 10,000 lbs. of gravel with just a wheel barrow and a bucket! Followed up with plantings of lavender, thyme and rosemary, and now we sit in Connecticut pretending it’s Provence… (If we squint real hard and drink enough Rose we fool ourselves momentarily) Good luck with the gardening and give us some Weber updates!
http://japanesecomfortfood.blogspot.com/
Well, what a busy bee you’ve been!
The herbs look even prettier now that they’ve filled out a bit. Any figs on the fig tree? My mother has one in her garden that actually bears fruit even in the frosty Vancouver climate.
With all the work you’ve done on your house you’re going to make a huge profit should you decide to sell it one day. Totally worth the effort.
I like your rendition of stonehenge. It seems like the perfect balance (once all the hard work is out of the way) to maintaining a garden w/ little effort! Well done…..
Stumbled upon you by accident, Sal, and am I glad I did. Just love your blog.
That’s a real fine job you’re doing there of your water-wise hot garden.