Landscape Artistry

With the weather finally veering away from the hellacious temperatures of summer, Doug has once again been on a mission to get the yard looking good. I got a bit more involved weighing in on the plant choices and becoming chief waterer. It is absolutely amazing how lovely everything looks. (Photos don't fully capture it all.) It will be very fun to watch how the plants mature and grow. And now that we are heading into the season where we can spend lots of time outside, it's a joy to see and take in the beauty.

Was

Is: Bougainvillea, Arabian Jasmine, Hibiscus and a variety of cacti.

Transplanted beaver tail cacti and aloe plants. Small barrel cacti.

Flowering sage between the grapefruit trees

Look at those pink grapefruit! Can't wait until they are ripe.

The backyard is almost complete. We will put some decorative rock gravel around the plants and we have one more big job of landscaping, the ridge that sits above the wall on the back of our property. We are probably going with torch glow bougainvillea as it will fill in nicely and blooms often throughout the year.

So, onto the front yard where lots of muscle was required. Doug's big design feature is the dry rock creek. He figured out the "flow" and moved every stone into place. Then, he moved it all again, put down plastic, and moved it back into place. I admire the work, but did not participate in this aspect of the landscape. It is truly stunning.

View facing the house

Arabian jasmine sits astride the dry creek.

View looking toward the street

Surrounded by desert grass and lantana

The interior of our front yard is a really nice space and we filled it in red/yellow lantana. Lantana loves the desert and grows very well. I am happy with the combination color. Additionally, we purchased two Mexican fan palms to surround the lantana. These plants are memorial trees for my parents that my Stockholm book club had purchased for us. They aren't the original plants as we had to leave those at the previous house we owned, but they are replicas and now have a wonderful spot in the front of our house.

Mexican fan palm and lantana. Texas Ranger is the large tree behind the wall and flowers in purple.

Desert grass, Mexican fan palm (mom), Lantana, Mexican Fan Palm (dad).

Ocotillo, with green leaves, waiting for fire orange blooms, a prickly pear cactus that will bloom red, a large barrel cactus that should also bloom on top and a new
lantana round out this lovely front of the house look.

There is now a warm welcome to our front door with lantana and sago palms along with barrel cactus providing a nice look. 

This view had been partially obstructed by the large yucca we transplanted to the backyard but now we can enjoy this gorgeous sight.We sat out last evening and soaked it all in. These chairs are beckoning company.

Desert landscape is so much diverse and beautiful than most people think. It is dry and sandy for sure but the plants that flower and thrive in the desert are so colorful and hearty. The hummingbirds and bees really like them too so it feels good to be doing our part to feed and support that part of the eco-system. We're happy to introduce you to the delights of the desert. Why don't you come on out and have a seat in our chairs and take in the beautiful view?