This year is the first time the Hardenbergia vine has attracted bees. I had planned the courtyard garden so that minimal flowers would bloom in the spring and summer. I didn’t want the courtyard and front door to be swarming with bees. Usually, everything stops [...]]]> The purple Hardenbergia is blooming now. I love the trail of purple climbing up the wall!

This year is the first time the Hardenbergia vine has attracted bees. I had planned the courtyard garden so that minimal flowers would bloom in the spring and summer. I didn’t want the courtyard and front door to be swarming with bees. Usually, everything stops blooming before the buzzing bugs come along. Maybe it’s from all the rain we’re having in Roseville this winter.

Even though we have bees now, I like how the purple and pink flowers mix with the blue containers and Mexican beach pebbles–very pretty!

I especially like Black Mondo Grass. I’d like to have the Black Mondo [...]]]> I love Mondo Grass. I like the constant green in the garden, and I like how it spreads by continuing to form distinct fountains of grass. This picture also shows the pink Azaleas, pink Cyclamen, and pink Camellia in bloom this winter.

I especially like Black Mondo Grass. I’d like to have the Black Mondo Grass planted next to something blue. Although the contrast of the black against the pink Cyclamen is beautiful, it reminds me of all my pink and black outfits in the 80s.

The ground cover looks nice the first year.

However, after having it for two years, I’ve nicknamed the ground cover Creepy Boobialla. The stems thicken, and [...]]]> I planted Creeping Boobialla in the front yard two years ago and liked the way the pretty green ground cover spread, so I planted it in the backyard last year.

The ground cover looks nice the first year.

However, after having it for two years, I’ve nicknamed the ground cover Creepy Boobialla. The stems thicken, and the plant looks like a creepy, invasive creature. I even found an inch thick stem creeping under our front lawn. It had to go.

It took a shovel and pick axe to remove the last stem. I’m going to plant Gazania in its place in the spring. For now, black bark looks much better than Creepy Boobailla.

I read the HomeLite manual, gathered my safety glasses and gardening gloves, and set out to practice on our Australian Tea Trees in the backyard. I finally got the hang of [...]]]> I finally bought a cordless shrubber. I thought it would be easier and quicker to trim bushes, and I have always wanted perfectly trimmed shrubs and topiary.

I read the HomeLite manual, gathered my safety glasses and gardening gloves, and set out to practice on our Australian Tea Trees in the backyard. I finally got the hang of it and whacked away at the trees.

Well, I don’t call my yard the Test Garden for nothing. I’m not sure the trees look much better after the trimming. I’m hoping that when I have more practice and regularly upkeep the shrubs, that they’ll look much better.

By the way, these pictures also show our Lantana. The Lantana wasn’t too happy about the rare snow day this winter, so they don’t look very good right now. I’m hoping this area will look beautiful again in the spring! (I also didn’t realize that my Australian Tea Trees and Italian Cypress look a little phallic. Ooops.)

I placed all my gardening tools on the hood [...]]]> I’m trying a different way to train vines up a fence. Previously, I had screwed hooks into the fence and tied rose branches to them as the rose bushes grew. I’m going to try a new vine training strategy that will hopefully save time and look better.

I placed all my gardening tools on the hood of my husband’s car (shhhhh). I have plant ties (I love this little contraption), gardening wire, eye hooks, scissors, pruners, wire cutters (I used my carpet cutters because I couldn’t find my wire cutters), sidewalk chalk, a tape measurer, and a wrench.

I used the tape measurer and my children’s sidewalk chalk to mark where I wanted my eye hooks. Then, I screwed in the eye hooks, using my bare hands and then a wrench to twist them deeper into the wood. I then cut the gardening wire and inserted the ends into the eye hooks. I twisted the gardening wire on each side to secure it.

I pruned the rose bush and used the garden ties to secure the remaining branches.

Teddy helped oversee the project.


I’m also going to try training some of the branches to be ground cover. I used a plant stake to secure one branch to the ground.

This is how this area looks now in February. We’ll see how it turns out throughout the year!