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| The Backyard on a Sunny February Afternoon |
Are you ready to take a short stroll through the back garden? The photo above is looking straight down the garden; the photo below is taken from the side gate (the big tree in the background is a neighbor's pine tree, which was trimmed late last year.
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| From a Different Angle |
See all that lovely green stuff on the ground? It almost looks like a lawn from this angle, doesn't it? It's just a weedy type of grass that grows only in the winter when it is cool and wet. As soon as summer comes and it starts to get hot, that grass will die back and it'll be just bare ground, again, especially since I won't water it.
The star of the garden, right now, is the peach tree:
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| Peach Tree |
You are going to get tired of pictures of the peach flowers, but, I love seeing them!
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| Peach Flowers |
There are clumps of osteospermum in the back garden, too:
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| Purple Osteospermum |
And the aloe vera flower stalk is still in the process of opening up, with the buds separating from the cluster (the flowers haven't bloomed, yet):
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| Aloe Vera Flower Stalk in Bud Stage |
Looking down along the side wall, with the clumps of crocosmia growing along the wall, the orange tree with osteospermum growing around its base:
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| Orange Tree and Companion Plants! |
Also growing under the orange tree is this volunteer carob plant!
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| Volunteer Carob Plant |
I might ask M to dig it up and plant it somewhere else!
This clump of crocosmia (and a yucca plant behind them) are growing further down along the side wall. You can see some of the plants flopped over, which is what happens when they are not staked. Almost all of the plants will flop over after they've flowered and once the leaves start to die, we will cut them down to the ground.
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| Croscosmia |
On the other side of the garden, behind the garage, the path to the shed is almost completely hidden by these plants, a mixture of purple Martha Washington geraniums, curry leaf suckers, osteospermum, and gazania, plus weedy grass! As M says, "Just add water and watch the garden grow!"
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| A Hidden Path! |
The area near the shed is full of gazanias and commelina (Asiatic dayflower) plants, growing like weeds. M cleared a whole bunch of them from around the base of the persimmon tree, but they are still growing in other places:
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| Gazania and Commelina (Asiatic Day Flower) Plants |
I've tried transplanting the gazania to other areas in the garden, but, they seem to prefer this particular location.
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| More Gazania |
Finally, the blueberry bushes:
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| Blueberry Bushes in Flower |
The bees are loving the flowers; in fact, there's a bee in the picture above - do you see it? No? Check the picture below - I've drawn an arrow pointing to it:
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| Bee on the Blueberry Flower |
Thank you for strolling in the back garden with me. Hope you enjoyed your visit!
Absolutely loved the walk around! It's all looking wonderful and even more so against the deep blue sky. Look at all that blueberry blossom - you'll need a second freezer!! As for the oranges, they were great to see but i wish they had been ready for picking! (I have deep pockets!)
ReplyDeletePS. NEVER sick of seeing the beautiful peach blossom!
Thank you, Lady Ella; glad you enjoyed the walk around the garden. I am definitely going to need another freezer if I get another bumper crop of blueberries and peaches, this year! Or make a ton of jam and chutney! The oranges are ready for picking! In fact, I have been picking a few every so often. :)
DeleteWell, you might have said when we were standing underneath the tree! You must have seen me eying them. (I would have left you a couple, honest!)
DeleteI'll trade you my oranges for your blackberries! :D
DeleteYour photos are lovely. Looks as though you’re still getting lots of lemons. I hope the peach blossoms turn into a tree full of sweet fruit. All the flowers are bright and beautiful. I wonder if the grass will remain longer this year after all the rain. And I think you are training the bees to pose on your blueberry bushes. 😊
ReplyDeleteThank you, Taconix. Yes, there are plenty of lemons on the trees. As for the peaches, we generally thin out the peaches at least twice before the rest are allowed to ripen. I've had branches break off and once, the whole tree bent over, due to the weight of the fruit! The grass will die as soon as the temperatures rise to the upper 80s and 90s. In the summer, I prioritize my watering - the fruit trees and any vegetables I decide to grow and then, the roses and other flowers. Watering restrictions are the main reason why I no longer grow a lot of flowers. Ha, ha, yes! I've trained the bees to pose! :D
DeleteOh my, your back garden is looking so lush and colorful !The rains sure have helped. I would never get tired of pictures of the peach flowers!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Celie. The garden is really thriving with all the rain we've had. :) The peach flowers are lovely, aren't they? :)
DeleteThe peach tree is fabulous! I love seeing all the green in the garden - even if it isn't grass lol. I really enjoy seeing your garden throughout the year.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sharon. The garden is very green, this year, due to all the rain we've had. I'm hoping it will stay green for a long time to come! :)
DeleteYour back garden looks wonderful and the peach blossoms are beautiful. Your garden is certainly thriving after all the rain and the bee is making the most of your blueberry flowers. It does look like you have a lawn but at least you don't have to mow it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Eileen. The bees have discovered the peach tree, too! :) No, I don't have to mow a lawn, but, M will cut the grass down with a string trimmer. In fact, he wanted to do so on Friday, but, I had him weed, instead.
DeleteI LOVE crocosmia!
ReplyDeleteThey are pretty flowers and add a bright spot of color in the garden! :)
DeleteYour garden looks so lush & thanks for taking us on a stroll through. Tired of peach blossoms - never! It looks like you will have a bumper crop of blueberries & peaches this year. And oh my to those Purple Osteospermum, so very pretty & plentiful - lucky you :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mary-Lou; the rain has really helped! Glad you enjoyed the stroll. I do love how the peach blossoms look and the tree is absolutely covered! I'm hoping for a bumper crop of peaches and blueberries (although, we will thin the peach crop by at least 50 percent to make sure that no more branches break!) The purple osteospermum are one of my favorites!
DeleteThank you for the stroll around your garden, I'm very envious of that peach tree, ours has good blossom and fruit but also 'drop' so we're lucky to get one or two peaches.. I shall be back for another stroll!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed the stroll, Chris. Sorry to hear that your peaches have been dropping. I've read that there are many reasons for peach drop, including not enough sunshine, inconsistent watering, lack of nutrients, and various diseases. Last year, it was very wet and cool during the spring and the peaches rotted at the bottom, where the rain gathered and didn't evaporate that quickly because it wasn't very hot.
DeleteI think that is a very happy looking garden! So many beautiful plants and even a "lawn" due to the rain. I like your idea of moving the volunteer carob plant and encouraging it. I suppose it will have flowers one day?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Bushlady. All that rain has really helped! The carob plant is very drought tolerant, I've read and yes, it will have flowers, although the male flowers are supposed to have a not too pleasant smell! Maybe I'll plant it away from the house! :D
DeleteEverything is so green! I have never seen a carob plant before. In fact, I've never even thought about where carob comes from. Once again, it's fun to see things that aren't common around here.
ReplyDeleteIt does look nice and green, doesn't it? Apparently, carob trees can grow up to 50 feet in height! I'll have to keep this little plant well trimmed!
DeleteGreen stuff, fruits and lots of blooms! How beautiful.
ReplyDeleteHow do you harvest carob? Curious minds want to know!
Thank you, Anne. :) Carob trees will produce edible pods, which are very astringent when green, but, sweeter when ripe and brown. They can be eaten raw (but, the seeds are too hard to be eaten and must be discarded) or, if you remove the seeds, dry the pods, and grind them up, you can get carob powder to add to smoothies, etc.
DeleteThe yarn colors are so pretty! That’s going to be a beautiful afghan.
ReplyDeleteYour muffins and dinner look delicious. We had pasta leftovers yesterday. Burgers are on the menu tonight and I was pleased to find marked-down turkey burgers at the grocery store. I like turkey and husband prefers beef so we’ll each eat our favorite with leftovers for another dinner and some to freeze.
I did laundry on Monday and shopping. Today I had a morning meeting but the rest of the day is clear. I dropped off clothes for charity yesterday so, while I’m on a roll, I should declutter something (anything)!
Enjoy your crocheting! 🧶
Thank you! I'm looking forward to making the new blanket.
DeleteBurgers for dinner sounds delicious. It's always good to find marked down items at the grocery store, isn't it? Sounds like you are having some productive days. Good luck with the decluttering!
The peach blossom is glorious. As you know, I always love to see the fruit trees. And the blueberries will be another delicious treat when it's harvest time. Are they difficult to grow? Xx
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jules. Yes, I'm looking forward to both peaches and blueberries. So far, the blueberries have been easy to grow! They are in containers and they seem to be quite happy where they are (they get the morning sun, but are in the shade during the afternoon).
DeleteAnd I'm still strolling along now into the back garden.
ReplyDeleteThat's a nice angle with the orange tree angling the photo on the left.
the colors are really nice with all the green and the orange.
Such a lush garden you have! The peach tree is a star.
You have such a nice variety of plants growing in your garden. And lots of color for so early. Is that true? Do you think things are ahead of schedule because of all your rain?
Your blueberry leaves are so pretty.
Hope you enjoyed the stroll through the back garden, as well, Debra. The garden is doing well after all the rain (there's more in the forecast for this weekend!) I don't think anything is ahead of schedule, though. Just looking greener and fresher!
DeleteLovely plants and flowers! I would be ashamed to walk you round our courtyard. It's a mess! Love FD xx
ReplyDeleteThank you, FD. You have no need to be ashamed of your courtyard; it might be a mess right now, but, come spring and summer, I'm sure it will be filled with lovely plants and flowers and maybe you'll have a place to sit and relax? Maybe you can give us a tour then. :)
Delete