As I mentioned on Friday, a lot of “Spring Cleaning” needed to be done in our yards. Saturday and Sunday were both spent weeding, trimming, and re-planting. A ton of dirty work! While there is still a lot to be done, I was able to set up our our outdoor dining room so that we could enjoy a spring celebratory dinner to cap off the weekend. I had to include a little “fun work” into my weekend chores :-)
The outdoor dining room sits in a nook that is sandwiched between the back of the house and the side of the garage. There is a big, tall pine tree that provides some shade. Last spring I planted a small Angel Trumpet tree in the bed surrounding the pine tree and it has just taken off and more than tripled in size already! Protected from the wind and direct sun this is the perfect place for this tree. In the evening the perfume from the blooms is just magical and adds to the peaceful setting of this little area. Needless to say we spend a lot of time out here!
I’m a long time lover of succulents, especially living in Southern California with our 100+ degree summers and water rationing. More than their obvious practicality, I love the colors and textures of all the different varieties. Many of the plants were started from cuttings either taken from our friend’s gardens or roadside, when on a walk or bike ride. I’ve had some of these plants for 15+ years! They have moved with me from house-to-house and have been repotted, and propagated into new plants many times over. On Sunday before prepping for dinner, I ended up putting together this low bowl with small clippings of larger plants in the garden.
There is still a lot we need to do in the yard, but it will have to wait for weekends to come. You can see in the picture above there is still a big patch of weeds and a pile of dirt to deal with, as well as figuring out what to do with the wood and concrete “patchwork” fence on the left side of the property. On my dream wish list would be a vertical succulent garden like the one, in the picture below, at the Pearl Hotel in San Diego. Oh, also on that wish list would be a group of worker elves to help me accomplish everything I want to do in the yard!
-Susie
