The Garden in June - Part 2: Back Garden

The second part of my garden tour is the back yard.  It is a little more sheltered than the west-facing front garden, receiving morning and afternoon sun, but being shaded by the shadow of the house in the evenings.

White Agapanthus

The white agapanthus, planted under the bottle brush tree, are blooming.  I had blue agapanthus in the front garden, but they died during the drought.  The front garden gets more sun, as it faces west.  

The hibiscus plant grows in a little circle, all by itself:

Hibiscus

It was dropping its leaves and we fertilized it with Epsom salt; I hope it helps.


In the bed under the orange tree, the radish plants are still flowering:

Radish Flowers

I am seriously considering growing radishes just for their flowers!

Above them, there are new oranges forming on the orange tree:

Oranges Developing

A bit further down the garden, the rosemary bush is flowering, too:

Rosemary Flowers

Along the back wall of the garden, the pink oleander trees are doing well:

Pink Oleander

Nearby, the calamondin tree is producing a new crop of fruit:

Calamondin Fruit

They look like miniature oranges or tangerines, but they are very sour!


Most of the roses have finished blooming, but the iceberg rose bush is still flowering:

Iceberg Roses

The back yard is surrounded by a wall.  This is the wall along the north side of the garden, where the lantana and plumbago "hedge" is growing:

Lantana/Plumbago Hedge

At one time, they were separate plants.  But, I've allowed them to grow together into one clump that is over three feet deep!  This is after M trimmed it back, about a month ago!

Plumbago Flowers

Lantana Flowers (a different shade than the ones in the front garden)

This part of the backyard is behind the garage and the garden shed.  Currently, it is rather overgrown and wild!  The garden cats love to prowl around here.  This is their "jungle"!

"The Jungle"

Another part of the Jungle!

The purple Martha Washington geranium is still flowering.  I haven't taken any cuttings yet, to try to root them:

Purple Martha Washington Geranium

The curry leaf trees (Murraya koenigii) are also flowering and their berries are starting to form:

Flowers of the Curry Leaf Tree

The leaves are used in our cooking; we add it to curries, to a type of rice porridge, or made into a type of relish.  The berries, which turn purplish-black when ripe, are also edible, but we don't normally eat them (they have a licorice sort of taste).


Something else that is edible is the tomato:

Baby Tomato

The two tomato plants I bought from the dollar store are growing and forming baby tomatoes!  I hope they will grow a bit bigger before the real heat of the summer starts!  I planted them in the same planting circle as the peach tree.

The peach tree is doing well, even if it lost all the little peaches that were forming, earlier in the spring!

The Peach Tree

I feel like singing my version of that old nursery rhyme:  "I have a little peach tree and nothing would it bear, not even a silver nutmeg or a golden pear"!  LOL!  Maybe next year.


The chrysanthemum I planted under one of the lemon trees is growing well and has been flowering for some time, now:

Chrysanthemum

So are the mirabilis or four o'clocks that self-seed and grow back, every year:

Mirabilis/Four o'clocks

Meanwhile, the new crop of lemons are forming on the Meyer lemon trees:

Baby Lemons

There are fruit forming on the feijoa or pineapple guava trees, as well:

Feijoa or Pineapple Guava

I have three feijoa trees, all growing along the south side wall, two in the back garden and one in the front.  Unfortunately, my cherry guava tree died during the drought.  I haven't decided if I will plant a replacement tree or not.

More raindrops on spiderwebs!

That is the garden in June!  No manicured lawns or well planned out flower beds!  But, things are growing after all the winter rains and I hope you enjoyed the tour!