Going Native

We took a class on native landscaping at Theodore Payne.

Our final project was to create a master plan for our entire garden.  Rob is going to do the bulk of the big stuff on his hiatus, but we did get started on the front yard.

To the left, is a pitcher sage.  It's supposed to be remarkably fragrant.

At the bottom is a western redbud.  It'll grow to be about 20 feet tall and is one of the most beautiful native trees I've seen.  Its leaves are getting a bit rusty, so I hope it's not going to crap out on use like the sycamore did last summer.

One of our native irises bloomed just in time for Easter. 

We spent a good chunk of Saturday in the yard. 

I cleared out dead poppies and pulled rusty leaves off the roses.  We've got a few blooms -- all red.  I'm curious to see what color the other bushes are since the Phoenix roses are a mystery.  One of them had a light purple tint before we transplanted it, so that would work well with the sage, rosemary and lavender.

I'll be glad when the rest of our landscaping looks as good as our parkway.

The Parkway Progesses

The poppies are really taking off, as well as the sages from Theodore Payne.

What a difference a year makes...this is what it used to look like.

Parkway, Take 2!

We got some new plants for the Parkway from Theodore Payne to replace the lavender bush and sycamore tree that didn't make it through the first round of planting.

We got two different sages -- the one to the right is my favorite. It has a red stem like a manzanita.

We also got two different kinds of irises, but I can't remember which is which.

I put all the plants in the tomato cages we aren't using right now -- hopefully, that will keep them from being stepped on and damaged.