OUR BACK GARDEN

This is a frontal view of our house which shows the walkway, the front entry and the planter area.

The purple in the trees are my Crape Myrtles (an East Indian shrub). I have one tree size and three semi-dwarves. Each semi-dwarf is a different color, ranging from deep cherry to lavender, while the full size is snow white. I have a "love affair" with crape myrtles and use them as often as I can.

Newer plantings in front of the house now contain variegated grasses (lily turf & bulbous oat grass) fortnight lily (dietes) and agapantha.

Those white birds are my wooden seagulls surrounded by rocks on a bed of wood chips.

We usually access the back yard either through the garage or to the right of the garage. One of these days, I'll take a wide angle picture that will hopefully show more of a frontal perspective.

We started our 'back garden' in 1984, when our youngest child sold her horse and I donated my Arab to the Pegasus Society. This left us with an empty area where the stalls and exercise area used to be. My husband told me to "do what ever I wanted" with the back area past the cross fencing. So, what my kids describe as "mom's botanical garden" and others as "Park Hamilton", a large park-like garden eventually came into being.

I started at the "outside edges" with my overall design and worked towards the center. The island beds are outlined in white river rock, leaving wide pathways between. I have an interest in Palms, so my design included plenty of room for palms to supply upright structure in the "oasis" landscape, while still retaining shade trees on the outside perimeter. The palms include: one Phoenix Reclinada (Senegal date palm), one Robelenii (pigmy date palm), one Chamaerops (trunkless Mediterranean fan palm), four Trachycarpus (Mediterranean palms with hairy trunk), nine Sygagrus (queen plams), two Triangle palms from Madagascar, one Revenea Rivularis (Majesty palm), a couple of Cyciads (Sago and a Dioon), and a Madagascar Thorn "Palm", now about 7 ft. tall.

  Primary flower beds consist of roses (20), bearded iris in a rainbow of colors, day lilies, crape myrtles (semi dwarf and dwarf varieties), and ornamental grasses. The perimeter fencing support various vines (Silver Lace, three Bouganvilla, Cape Honeysuckle, a Catspaw, and a Plumbego) which screen out neighboring property and soften the back block wall. The stall shelters were placed back to back providing a 20 X 48 ft. shade area, with a Trumpet vine, Passion vine, and a Wisteria softening the front. More water intensive plants are located in the "waste water" area near the pond pumps, and include pampus grass, birds of paradise, flame bush, water iris, and more day lily. An interesting variety of cacti and succulants are carefully placed to catch the eye in the "dryer" areas of the garden.

   Fruit trees include a dwarf peach, Meyer Lemon, Manderin Orange, Valencia Orange and a Black Mission Fig. Shade trees are Ash, Brazilian Pepper, New Zealand Flame Tree, Chinese Lantern, and a So. American Silk Floss. Three of the largest trees were lost last year in the 110 mph Santa Ana winds.

   Mulching is an extremely important part of my garden. (I have had attack/remission M.S. since my early 20's, and gardening has been an important part of my physical therapy.) The best system I've discovered is to clear the flower bed of all weeds, make your water wells (where required) around each plant, cover with several layers of newspaper which is then sprayed with water to make it conform to the contours of the bed, then top with 3 to 4 in. of mulch. Each bed completed in this manner, has repaid our efforts with almost trouble free maintenance. Any seedlings that sprout are easily lifted out with no effort. The only plants that can't be covered with mulch are the Bearded Iris, as they easily get "root rot" and must be exposed to light and air.

This is a scene from the center portion of the garden, looking towards the left, or the aviary. The pergola, or summer house, is in the center of the garden. Duane did all the hardscape construction (the buildings, walkways, ponds), while I focused primarily on design and softscape (planting and replanting). Duane now does most of the upkeep of our large yards. (On those days, he doesn't go to the gym.)

This is a full view of our Summer house, which is placed in the center of the yard.