The backyard landscaping is progressing at a pretty good pace in spite of our general laziness. We just cannot seem to get up and out early enough to beat the heat and then must wait until after 6pm for a tolerable temperature to work outside. We did get all the new plants in the ground.
I was really worried about the 2 additional Desert Willow trees we planted. The first one that went is finally in full leaf and has some really lovely flowers, but when these new ones came out of the pot is was apparent that they didn't really put out any new roots and probably should have stayed in the pot for a bit longer. We got them into the ground and every single leaf immediately wilted and eventually fell off, in fact they got really crispy and then fell off : (
So, being a novice landscaper, I have been obsessively worried about them and checked every single day to see if there were any new signs of life. Lo and behold, the trees have risen from death's doorstep! They still look like crap, but I think they really do deserve the name of Desert Willow and will be OK.
On the other hand the first one we planted is doing splendidly, and has bloomed with these lovely pinkish purple trumpet shaped flowers. They don't seem to have any particular scent, but they look great.
The whole yard is really coming together and we are both very, very pleased. We are now looking at backyard furniture and planning for a BBQ in June or July which will be a good motivator for us to finish up the details. I think we will not be planting anything else until late fall/early winter as it's just too hot now for a tender young plant to get started.
The pergola is done and we spent a little time this weekend stringing some lights for ambiance.
So, being a novice landscaper, I have been obsessively worried about them and checked every single day to see if there were any new signs of life. Lo and behold, the trees have risen from death's doorstep! They still look like crap, but I think they really do deserve the name of Desert Willow and will be OK.
On the other hand the first one we planted is doing splendidly, and has bloomed with these lovely pinkish purple trumpet shaped flowers. They don't seem to have any particular scent, but they look great.
The whole yard is really coming together and we are both very, very pleased. We are now looking at backyard furniture and planning for a BBQ in June or July which will be a good motivator for us to finish up the details. I think we will not be planting anything else until late fall/early winter as it's just too hot now for a tender young plant to get started.