Friday, October 26, 2012

Front Landscape: Month Six

So, the front yard is a wild and woolly riot of color right now, and I love it. Especially the tidal wave of sweet potato vine that's flowing out over sidewalk and path (I do trim it back each week, but it keeps flowing). It's hard to believe almost none of this was here 7 months ago! The crepe myrtle and cherry laurel are the big exceptions. Just a little yard progress report:
Now
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3 months ago 
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6 months ago 
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7 months ago 
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And a few more shots of the front yard now, with Gulf Muhly doing its thing. There's a big open space where the burgundy hibiscus used to be on the lower left (mealy bugs!)...still deciding what to put in there.
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Tangle of artemesia, sweet potato vine and Gregg's Mist.
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Creeping thyme behind the gaura is just starting to thrive and spread.
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The pale yellow firecracker ferns have filled in nicely, and the fig grew much more than I expected for its first half year.
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My cat camouflaged as a fig leaf shadow IMG_5752
Upcoming post: landscape planning/planting phase 2.

6 comments:

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The Curious Holts said...

WOW! That is looking wonderful! What a difference. Can you believe how fast the figs grow? I was tempted to set up a fig cam on mine as it grew so quickly!

Guy said...

Second try at posting this ...
For you bare spot, where your Hibiscus was, you might try Esperanza or Mimosa Borealis. The Mimosa is the bush kind (not the invasive tree) and it has a very fine leaf - almost like a fern - in silvery green, with reddish brown stems. It has thorns and the bloom period is not long but the foliage is much prettier than I anticipated. Both of these grew very fast for me - about triple in size in six months. Neither one likes water (the Mimosa will tolerate watering, but I think it prefers to be left alone)and they only lose their leaves for a couple of months in Winter.

Guy said...

Whoops! for *your* bare spot.

greggo said...

Coming over from Digging. Is that re-purposed concrete for the front walk? I'm currently doing the same thing. I broke out my back concrete sidewalk in sections. They turned out being 5" thick and 3'x5'in size. They weigh probably 500 pounds.

Amy Farrier said...

Curious Holts: Fig cam sounds like a great idea. The figs on mine just started ripening a week ago, which was a sweet autumn surprise.

Guy: I haven't heard of Mimosa Borealis, but I'm going to have to check it out. Sounds lovely.

Greggo: I didn't actually reuse the sidewalk concrete from the front walk, although recycling that is a great idea (at 500lbs, that takes serious muscle and dedication!). My path is made of limestone pavers that were cut down by Tim of Brosnan Outdoor Craft (who did the front hardscape). I'll have to check out your blog to see this concrete path of yours...