the Little Backyard

When I post pictures of what's blooming in the yard it is always close-ups and I might have given the impression that I have lush gardens all around. That may be the eventual goal but right now everything is spread pretty far apart. The house sits on a half acre and then some as we have pushed the back boundary into the 12 Acre Field behind us. Most of the Big Backyard is grass because of the three mature pecan trees that form a triangle of shade, well, more like a rectangle of shade as the magnolia also contributes. It's sunny back there now because the pecans are just now leafing out but soon it will be in deep shade. Anyhow, I thought I would give you a tour of the yards.

The back door to the Little Backyard, the small area enclosed by the fence, faces east and this is my view while sitting at my work station. The tea cup bird feeder hangs directly in front of me and I can see the turtle pond through the open door.

Standing just outside the back door facing east, then looking to my right are the small pots with plants, some of which will eventually get put in the ground, the walking iris in a pot, the toad lily in the ground behind it, the white butterfly ginger, roses against the fence, and the turtle pond in the southeast corner. 

Looking to my left are the bromeliads where the little frogs hide, the chinese fringe flower shrub that the birds and squirrels sit in to approach the tea cup, and the yellow butterfly ginger and other assorted blooming plants.

The east side has a huge red tip photinia on the north end and a chinese tallow tree

while the south end has a ginkgo tree and the turtle pond. The area in between is in flux.

The southwest corner...the mock dogwood in the corner, hummingbird bush which doesn't get enough sun to bloom well, day lilies, white butterfly ginger on the right and in the foreground the plumerias which haven't leafed out yet from winter.

The Little Backyard from outside the gate looking north.

This is the in-progress bee and butterfly garden on the outside of the fence. From the left, pink butterfly ginger, two tubs of water plants, nile lilies, montbrecia, miniature gladiolas, guara, salvia, mexican bush sage, day lilies, butterfly weed, penta, white cat's whiskers, and other stuff. The only thing blooming in there now is the butterfly weed and the penta.  I need to take down the trellis as I don't use it anymore.

The water lily pond on the other side with all sorts of stuff in there...althea, day lilies, amaryllis, yellow angel trumpet, white philippine lily, rosemary, heritage rose from the city house, and other stuff.

Here's the full view. You can just see the end of the old vegetable garden on the right.

Turning towards it.

Facing east. All kinds of stuff in here too...bulbine, larkspur, behind that is a pink angel trumpet that isn't growing well, at least not so far, rock rose, and a mexican bird of paradise; gardenia in the ground, cinco de mayo rose and a plumeria in pots, a shrub/herb that makes yellow flowers, the tall orange cosmos on the end, and my red bud tree in the large pot.

A lot of the stuff in the gardens is newly planted and has not attained it's mature growth or is still coming out from the winter. The different plantings bloom at different times of the year. Right now it's just the wildflowers and the very early spring bloomers.

Next post...the Big Backyard