My Backyard!

Last spring I worked outside for two months, every weekend, with my parents help to landscape our backyard. It was something I had been wanted to do for a very long time. It was four individual projects that took a lot of hard work but I am happy with the results. I started with the back left side of our house where the air conditioning units are and my goal was to create a beautiful shade to cover up what I considered to be an eye sore. I rented a tool from Home Depot, called a tiller. Power tools, have to love them! It was a task using this tool in the backyard to prepare the ground for a flower bed. I did some research on the ground/dirt type in our area and it is clay/dirt! It is because of this that I had to alter my vision for the landscaping to plants and trees that would survive in this type of dirt. I planted a gorgeous little palm in the middle of the flower bed, four red/yellow blooming flower plants (the name of which I can't recall) and five pink laureles plants, of the five only one blooms with flowers which I can't understand why! To complete this flower bed I also bought 22 white, curved, pave stones and a black guard to keep the weeds from growing. I placed the stones in a wavy line so that it would give the flower bed some character. The last addition to the flower bed was red mulch to cover the dirt up and make it nice and pretty. After I completed this work of art with my parents, my green thumb gave me the push I needed to start the next one!

In the far back corner of our yard we have a hideous green transformer thing! I dislike it very much. As you can probably guess this was my next task, covering up the green thing! I used seven light wood 6 foot tall lattice as a barrier. Picture this.... One is slanted in the center of the green thing, approximately 3 feet away from it, because it stills needs to be accessible for the cable company. :P In front of each of the lattice I put a bugambilia plant that has grown to cover the lattice as though it were the lattice itself! I purchased two large rose bushes and three yellow flowering plants (the ones of which I can not recall the name of) because I liked them very much in the other flower bed! I completed the flower bed with the same beautiful white pave stones and red mulch. This time I placed the stones in a big half circle to make it stand out. One thing I did add to this flower bed that I in turn also added to the first was solar lights to light up the flower beds at night! On to my next project, the far right corner of the yard.The shape is the first thing that took place with this flower bed. I made it in the shape of an S. I used three light wood 3 foot lattice to cover a gray pole that sticks out to match the green transformer in the opposite side of the yard. Then I planted three jasmine plants to grow over these lattice. I also bought four more of the red/yellow plants that I can not recall the name of and one large lilac colored plant along with a large gardenia. My Mom and I love the smell of gardenias! I used the solar lights, white pave stones, and red mulch to finish the flower bed in this corner. At this point my Dad was thinking that he is very happy with the way the yard looks and that we are done but we still had a couple things to work out and yes one of them is another flower bed.

That flower bed is going to be across the landscaping that shades the air conditioning units. This flower bed is in the shape of a W. I used two large double hibiscus plants, two large lilac plants, and one red/yellow plant which I can not remember the name of for the center piece of this flower bed. I used the same toppings to complete this flower bed. The last two beds were for a grape fruit tree and a magnolia tree, one on each side of the swing set. I have to say that after the hard freeze we had a few of them are brown but I hope that they will survive and bloom at the end of the month. It is time for me to go work out in my garden now.... Imagine Me Without You!