Monday, July 18, 2022

Summer Backyard Project and Tour


Hi Friends,

We have beautiful weather here in California,

but it's true it never rains!

We have been experiencing a drought for years.

Recently our area is requiring drastic cut backs on watering.

Putting limits on watering times and days

makes it impossible to

keep a lawn.

We made the decision to remove

 about 25 percent of our grass in the backyard.

My before pictures were hard to see, but you get the idea.

We used spray paint to make our curve and just

started digging up the grass.

My husband capped off some sprinklers and left others.

We put down sand paths, and spaced out large stepping stones.




We filled in our path with pea gravel.

Then put down some planter mix.

I  knew our plans in advance, so I have been

dividing my perennials and putting them in pots until we were ready. 



Here is the same area 2 months later.


We added mulch to help save on water use.





My Lemon Balm and Lambs Ear plants are so happy!





This plant below was new to me this year-


Japanese Forget-Me- Nots











Nasturtiums do well in my garden.




We are looking forward

to having grapes, although they need a lot of water.



Feverfew is another perennial we love.

It grows well here. I love the tiny daisy-like flowers



Here is another path around my herb garden.









This pomegranate bush produces well,

but the best part is

it hides my neighbors basketball hoop.



We just added a dwarf Peach Tree.






When we get more rocks, we plan to continue the path.



Over in the Vegetable garden,

we are starting to have some cabbage.












This window box is under my kitchen window opposite the

veggie garden.


We love Blackberries! I wish I had more




And Zucchini...there's plenty.





Lots and Lots of Kale-



Sequoia Strawberries





Mini White Pumpkins and white corn





Mexican Sage and Hollyhocks



Here's another view.


I wanted to wait to share this post after

we received our water bill.

I am thrilled to say we were able to cut back on

our water bill and keep within our city reduction

requirements.

The native and drought tolerant plants we have used

are very easy to maintain.

If you are interested I can share my list with you.


Thank you for taking the tour with me!

xo Lisa S

20 comments:

  1. Your garden is absolutely stunning! Our grass is all brown now here in northwest Arkansas. We haven't had rain for almost 2 months now & our temps have been 100' & higher....no rain in sight. This is typical for us though we've had wet summers for about 5 yrs in a row. In the past, we've had super dry hot summers too.

    Have you followed 'The Prudent Homemaker'? I think she's in Utah? She does amazing things in her garden with very little water. Her garden is worth seeing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Jenny! We used to have a sweet cottage-style garden, but now just native and edibles. I will definitely check out the Prudent Homemaker. Stay cool :)
      xo Lisa S

      Delete
  2. Your garden is beautiful! Here in Pennsylvania, we have plenty of rain and low water bills, but we do have winter:( The biggest issues we deal with in our garden are hungry wildlife and we live in a fairly urban area!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Doreen! I've never been to Pennsylvania, I know it's beautiful. I would love to see deer romping around in theory, we only have a family of racoons that dig and travel on-
      So nice to meet you. I 'm glad you stopped by to visit!
      xo Lisa S

      Delete
  3. You are so smart to get rid of some grass. I love the mix of flowers and veggies!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Michele, I really didn't think it would save that much water. I found out- wow I was wrong! The grass takes so much water and really didn't look that good. We still have some- for now- we will see :) Thank you so much!
      xo Lisa S

      Delete
  4. Such a beautiful garden! I like how you've done the walkways too.

    Alexandra
    EyeLoveKnots.com
    OnRockwoodLane.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Alexandra.
      It's working out very well.
      xo Lisa S

      Delete
  5. You did a great job, Lisa! We're in a new cottage home with smaller landscape than our former home, and I'm in my first year of overhauling what was the original footprint. We are zone 7a in West Virginia, and we get all four seasons, no limits on watering but we also get a good amount of rain.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rita,
      I have always wanted to visit Virginia. It really sounds wonderful.
      I have lived all my life in California and sadly never experienced very much seasonal change. Sometimes I have to wear a sweater that's it :) Send some rain Ok?
      xo Lisa S

      Delete
  6. Your backyard is looking great. Great to see your veggies doing so well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Judy! The new garden is still doing great.
      I'm so glad we took out the lawn.
      xo Lisa S

      Delete
  7. Your backyard is stunning and you have a lot of produce already. I love Nasturtiums too, I have quite a few at the allotment that I grew from seeds. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Teodora,
      You are so sweet! I'm so glad you could stop by for a garden tour. The nasturtiums are about done now. I like to eat them. Do you like their taste?
      xo Lisa S

      Delete
  8. I love how you incorporated edibles into your backyard, and how you considered the water needs to conserve as much as possible.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Janet,
      Thank you so much. I thought the veggies would use the same amount of water so I resisted taking out the lawn for years. I 'm so glad we did. It was the perfect time to do it, and it's working out great.
      xo Lisa S

      Delete
  9. Lisa the blogger or master gardener? I vote both! I personally think the best thing that happened to your yard is the fact that you ran into drought conditions because what you've created is so whimsical and priceless! Taking notes...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Donna,
      You always have the most encouraging and kind words !
      Thank you so much. I have always wished for a garden like yours! I don't have the gorgeous shed but I think I copy your love of rusty tools on the fence :)
      xo Lisa S

      Delete

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