June 2014 Wide Angles

At the beginning of the month, we join Heather at Xeristyle to show off the wide-angle photos of our yards.

From the Neighbor's house.  I'm really digging the hell strip.  The purple flowers are Horsemint, the yellow ones are mostly santolina.  The white plants are Artemisia.  The cat is the neighbor's (Princess), and the man is my husband (trying to get out of the photo)

Closer in - this is the Berm Bed.  The Purple Puff balls are Peter's Purple Monarda, the yellow are Englemann's Daisy, the purple spikes are Horsemint, and you can just make out one of my heart-shaped cactus pads (in the front right), and the Echinacea in the back of the bed.  The tree in the planter by the door is my Avocado tree (grown from a pit) which came back from the roots after this winter.  I would have left it in it's original spot, except I planted a Desert Willow in that spot because I figured there was no way the avocado would survive the winter we had.

From my driveway.  The Mexican Feather Grass is starting to look a little iffy.

The hell strip.  The neighbor who lives next to us told me the other day that he really likes the hell strip right now.  We'll see how he feels when the horsemint stops blooming.

The Rose Bed and Far Hell Strip.  The yellow/orange flowers by the sad-looking Dr. Huey rose are Zexmenia, the white is Blackfoot Daisy,  I also have some Larkspur and Thyme in this bed.  The Hell Strip on this side of the driveway currently features Prairie Fleabane (white), Blanketflower (red/yellow), and Dahlberg Daisy (yellow).  It also has a bunch of weeds and seeding poppies.

And around to the side yard:

The Passionvine.  Which I have to occasionally pull off of the neighbor's gate.

Looking through the gate...at our giant brush pile.  My long-term plan is to fill in the low spot where the brush pile is, and maybe put in a hammock.  Because I'm now obsessed with hammocks.

The panoramic from the deck.  Also featuring the brush pile.

The panoramic from the other side of the deck.  Featuring the electric box.  Seriously, the grasses can't grow fast enough.  I've added a bird bath in that corner, I haven't seen any birds in it, but I have noticed water missing from it every once in a while, so it's probably being used.  Again, the purple poofs are Peter's Purple Monarda.

June 2014 World Photo