Back Yard Stroll

Feel like taking another stroll through the back yard?  Just a quick stroll, this time, to see what's new.  For gardens change from week to week, almost from day to day, and I like to see what those changes are!  The good and the bad!  LOL!

Remember this photo from a couple of weeks ago?  It was taken a day after M mowed it:

The Back Yard - Two Weeks Ago, After Mowing

Didn't look too bad, did it?  Even with the couple of bare patches, where the grass had died out.

Well, here's how it looks now, two weeks later:

Back Yard: May 1st

Here is a close up:

The "Lawn" 

You see, the "lawn" is actually a mixture of various types of grass and wild plants, including Cat's-ear (Hypochaeris radicata) which is in related to the dandelion and is edible.   They have yellow, dandelion like flowers, which open in the morning, but, close later.

Cat's-ear Plants

I have dandelion growing too, which, as most of you know, is edible:

Dandelion

Then, there are these pretty little yellow flowered clover, growing in spots:

Yellow Flowered Clover

They look like they might be Oxalis coniculata, also known as creeping woodsorrel.

And these plants, which might or might not be chickweed (Stellaria):

Chickweed?

IF they are chickweed, then, they are edible.  However, I have not been able to identify them to my satisfaction and I will not be tasting them any time soon!  Does anyone know what they are?

Elsewhere, my tomato seedling is starting to look more like a tomato seedling:

Tomato Seedling

And the cantaloupe seedlings are coming along well, with new ones coming up at the back:

Cantaloupe Seedlings

Cantaloupe Seedlings Up Close

I thought I should dig up some of the ones that are at the back and plant them in various spots in the garden.  M, however, thinks I should keep the bigger plants and thin out the rest!  He also didn't think that these plants will survive, because he remembers the summer when I planted some squash seedlings and they all got scorched and burned from the sun!  He's probably right and I feel a bit deflated, but, I'm going to transplant them and see what happens, anyway! 

The "sneezing" star jasmine plant (that is probably what I'll be calling it from now on!)(Trachelospermum jasminoides)  has flowers, although afternoon is probably not the best time to photograph them:

The "Sneezing" Star Jasmine

The roses continue to bloom (I really should weed those planting circles):

Roses

Further down the garden, the Bauhinia tree (also known as Orchid tree) is flowering:

Bauhinia (Orchid Tree)

And, the pink oleanders growing along the back wall are flowering too:

Pink Oleander

Further along the back wall, in a shadier spot under the pine tree, the dayflowers (Commelina) are thriving:

Dayflowers

So are the gazanias, although, they prefer a slightly sunnier spot.  They died out where I had planted them, originally, and self-seeded themselves in this spot that they seem to prefer!

Gazanias

In the area behind the garden shed, there is this huge tangle of asparagus fern (Sprengeri) that is growing rather wild:

Asparagus Fern (Sprengeri)

One of these days, I will have to cut it back, because, not only has it practically swallowed up a potted succulent plant, but, growing through it is this:

Jasmine Vine 

Those broader leaves are the leaves of the second jasmine vine that I had mentioned, in a previous garden post! 

And speaking about plants growing wild, this is the lantana/plumbago hedge growing along the rear portion of the side wall, behind the garden shed:

Lantana/Plumbago

M cut it back, earlier, but, it has grown back.  It is a good 8 - 10 feet in length and has grown at least four feet wide from back (against the wall) to the front!  I am happy to let it grow, but, it is starting to swallow up a rose bush that is growing in front of it! 

M mowed the "lawn" again, today, so, once again, it looks a little more like a lawn! 

Hope you enjoyed today's stroll through the back yard.