IN THE BEGINNING…

THERE ARE MORE PICTURES TO ADD AND MORE STORIES TO TELL!!!

The pictures in this section show what the yard looked like when Suzanne and I arrived at the mansion in mid-December of 2008. I have taken pictures of some areas after they have been cleaned up and I be adding more pictures as time goes. I didn’t actually start taking pictures of the yard until February because we were busy with unpacking and moving boxes and furniture to the store and getting it ready. The weather also prevented me from doing much yard work. I have some before and after pictures in some of the areas.

SOUTH EAST SIDE OF THE FRONT YARD

Picture showing Vinca minor on the ground and Trumpet Vine climbing on trees and shrubs in the Southeast side of the front yard Feb 1, 2009.

Another portion of the East side of the front yard taken on 2-1-09.

After working in this section off and on in October and November, this is what it looks like now. Picture taken 12-18-09.

I have some ideas for this area… But it will take a lot of work. I thought about raised beds with pathways with many different specimen plants… Problem is, obtaining or finding rocks or something to border the beds and then getting the soil to fill the beds. There are also several trees that bring more shade than I want for some of the plants I would like to plant here!

SOUTH EAST CORNER OF THE BACK YARD. This section was a BIG nightmare! The trumpet vine was just all over everything. There were small trees in this area that hadn’t seen the light of day in YEARS! I worked on this area first, along with the Northwest corner and the center of the back yard.

Southeast corner of the backyard... Along the fence between the front and back yard. Picture taken 2-1-09.

The tree in the left side of the picture is a HUGE Oak tree that has had many limbs fall out in the past. The tree literally weaves back and forth in the wind. I have gotten two estimated to remove this tree… One was for $2,500 and was for $3,800!!! There is some kind of variegated plant growing in this area (pictured in the ORIGINAL PLANTS PAGE) and another shrub I think could be a Weigela… Hard to see the Weigela because it is being smothered by Trumpet Vine. I cleaned it all out so the shrub could leaf out, but so much damage has been done that most of the shrub remained bare all summer anyway!

Same area as the above photo. Still more work to do. Picture taken 5-1-09.

Plans for this area may be to build a couple of raised beds and possibly plant Kiwi and transplant some of the Passion Flowers along the fence.

CORNER NEXT TO LIBRARY AND EAST SUN ROOM. The tallest Magnolia I have ever seen is in this area along with Heavenly Bamboo, Cast Iron Plant, and the sweetest smelling flowering tree! I don’t know what kind of tree it is, but there is a picture of it on the “ORIGINAL PLANTS” page.

This is an area next to the library and east sun room. Luckily NO trumpet vine in here! Picture taken 2-1-09.

There were statues, pieces of fountains, wrought iron decor, toilets, etc. all along these areas in the back yard. Careless movers broke a lot of them and parts to fountains are STILL missing!

Another view of the same area in the abobe picture showing the Cast Iron Plant. Picture taken 2-1-09.

CENTER OF THE BACK YARD: This area was like a war zone between me and the Wisteria roots and vines. Now, the Wisteria is on the fence along the alley, not the fence in this picture, but about 20 feet beyond this fence. I kept tripping on this vine every time I went to the shed. One day I picked up the vine and pulled. The grass moved at least 50 feet away close to the center of the open area in the back yard (where the garden is now). By the time I pulled roots and vines for two or three days, I had piles of it! There were dead vines on the ground and in the trees that were 3-4 inches across!

This picture was taken on 9-8-08.

I had already pulled vines and roots in February or March, but during the summer it had grown up again somewhat by the time this picture on 9-8-09.

Another view of the back yard just to the right of the above picture. Taken 908-09.

The tree in the above photo is the Saucer Magnolia featured in one of the pages under “ORIGINAL PLANTS”. If you look close, you can see a piece of Wisteria dangling from the tree. You will also see the other fence along the alley.