happy spring!

Okay, I'll admit it. I've inherited my mom's gardening gene. And now that it's springtime, I've dug in (literally) and attacked the backyard where I now have four gardens. (That fourth one just kind of sprung up last weekend... I guess that's what happens when you have a giant pile of bricks sitting in a corner looking lonely.) I find digging in the dirt and trimming my roses and hedges strangely therapeutic, and based on how the last six weeks have been at work, I've really needed that therapy (plus some vodka... although not at the same time).

So here's what I've spent the last two weekends working on. Just a little more mulching and flower planting here and in the front garden next weekend, and then I'll be done and can sit back and enjoy ... at least for a week or so before I have to start weeding again ;)

The rose garden -- weeded, trimmed and fed, with weed blocker and mulch laid down.
Now if I could only keep the kumquats from falling in it...

And a giant yellow rose... cuz I'm from Texas ;)

Pink roses blooming

My giant flower bed... just waiting on the four transplanted roses on the right to bloom

Pink & purple bouganvillas, gardenias and roses on the right side of new garden #5
(aka where "the pony shed" used to be). Hopefully by the end of this summer, the pink and purple flowers will cover the ugly gray cinderblock wall that was rebuilt last summer.

More bouganvillas and agapanthus on the left of new garden #5.
The agapanthus have always been there and -- other than the Mexican lime tree in the middle --
are all that remain the same about the very back of my backyard since I moved in.

Close-up on pretty purple bouganvillas

When someone leaves a hollow tree stump
in the corner of your yard, turn it into a planter :)

My replanted herb garden -- the 2012 edition. Hopefully the cilantro lives through the summer so I can make guacamole whenever I want. The basil is there to smell good (and go on pizza if I ever get around to making any). And the rosemary is just there to repel bugs from the patio. (It's a very sad plant compared to my GIANT rosemary bush on the side of the house.) 

Potted plant-landia on the back steps -- home of geraniums, pansies, begonias and Mrs. Froggie :)