Landscaping

Jerry and I have always been into landscaping. Our house in California was completely tricked out with trees, bushes, and occasional veggies. I have always loved having a lush, green yard. It's a team effort with us--we go together to buy the plants and Jerry plants most of the stuff with me helping. lol

We carried the same viewpoint when we moved to Texas. And moving to our new house we had a huge yard to work with--almost a quarter of an acre all together between the front and back yard. All this yard had really planted in it was grass--that's it.

The first thing we bought to plant was an oak tree for the front side yard. We had a rude awakening with that tree. Jerry spent a day and a half trying to dig the hole for that tree. He learned the hard way what was under our yard--limestone rock. Lots of it. He wound up renting a jackhammer just to plant a tree. That was a first for us. Here is what it looked like when we were done.



The next step we did was to expand the look around the tree and add a retaining wall planter. Our goal is to minimize the lawn that needs to be watered and mowed. We bounced around different ideas until we came up with the following. We did all the work ourselves and saved a lot of money on labor. Although, I did get sunburnt and scratched the heck out of my hands.



We've since added a climbing rosebush in a huge container where the bench is and moved the bench to the side of the house. Today, we added three bottlebrush bushes/trees to the long left side by the wood retaining wall.



I've also tweaked the plants in the brick retainer wall planter. I originally planted rosemary and basil, alongwith other flowering plants. Today, I added parsley, thyme, sage and green onions.

I will try to take photos when I can so I show the newest additions. In the back yard, we have a real challenge to work with.



We have added two oak trees and one Chinese elm to the back yard, alongwith three crepe myrtles. Our big plan is to add a large back patio with a cover. We've had bids, but OMG, way out of our price range for now. We hope to do it piece by piece so we can more affordably accomplish our goals.

We try to go with native plants that are hardy, and I want to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. I like being able to plant my herbs and veggies in the planter up front. I don't have to worry about the dog getting anywhere near it. I am starting to dry my own herbs and make my own spice mixes with them.

There's always something to do or plant and we are having fun doing it. Man, I love it here.