Out on the Yard

Since it appears from what I'm reading from other electric vehicle builders that Electro Automotive is in no hurry to deliver my goods, I'm trying to catch up on my yard work. After 2 years away in New Zealand, I returned to a veritable jungle last year. My "dwarf" lemon tree was 12 feet high, the rosemary bushes had overwhelmed the front yard, etc. I really spent much of the last year just hacking away and now I'm trying to set up something that isn't so high-maintenance. I'm using mostly drought-resistant plants and ground cover that can also choke out weeds.

Here's the left side of the house. I'm going for a kind of "desert dream" effect.


Things need to grow in more before I can tell whether I am pulling it off, but I think this is a good start.




Here it is from back to front. I recently added some solar powered lighting which makes it visible at night, mostly in a kind of shadow effect as the lights are not overly bright.


I'm staying with a desert motif on the other side, but more of a mediterranean/desert look.


I just planted some Giant Bird-of-Paradise plants that get 10 feet tall next to the palms (The big leafed plant you can barely make out behind the brown flax). As the palms get tall and more distant from the rest of the landscape, I think these will keep a tropical feel to it. I got the idea from the prison where I work. The landscaper there has a real talent (I'd take some pictures, but of course they aren't allowed). The bougainvillea against the wall is starting to make a comeback. A lot of it died off in unusually cold spell this winter. I'm planning to put a wall fountain between the two cacti. I'm thinking a Mexican tile fountain, but I haven't found anything that I like. Maybe I'll make my own, but that's yet another project...