Thinking of Spring...

As everyone keeps reminding me, it's not spring yet. Out here, we can get frost until about mid March. So, to keep myself from rushing ahead, i figured i would write down the key projects i want to do this year, so i can think about Spring, but not kill any plants with my over enthusiasm yet!

I'm doing this as a "tell the truth" tuesday post, because you can see some of the before pictures... and they are not pretty! Hopefully, there will be better pictures later this spring! Thanks Allison for keeping me honest about all these parts of my garden!

In the back garden, i want to:

• Set up pots around the stock pond

like this mock up i did a few month ago

• Replace some of the dead/dying pink muhly grass along the stream bed

many of them look like this (those are poppy seedlings, and not weeds!

also, i should just keep "kill the gophers" on a regular list, like weeding.

•  figure out what to do with the 4th planting bed on the hill side

it needs a bushy ground cover - i'm thinking of a couple of options. And maybe a less dead tree?

• plant something on the top edge of hillside, under the pine trees

or maybe leave it mulch, but at least clean up the dead stuff!

• reconfigure the "mangave pot" area with different ground covers & flowers

i'm thinking a new yucca, and wildflowers?

• clean up and replant the area under the palo verde tree that can now be seen

um... yes? replace the yarrows?

• Hang up some plants/pots/decorations on the south side of the house on the empty wall

this is on the south side, and usually dry... i'm thinking maybe pots with cacti 

In the front garden, i want to:

• figure out/fix the watering system around the "rock pond" bed - it's not working and killing the plants

in particular the areas to the left and right of the giant clump of dead purple fountain grass

• clean up and change the plants on the north side - the guara are way overgrown

and others need to be trimmed back hard to see what will happen

• clean up the old red yucca (hersperaloe) in the corner - it deserves better!

this was one of the first plants i ever planted (also, yes, clean up leaves is on the list!)

Of course, a general goal i should have is to stay ahead of the million weeds that are about to spring up in the DG around the garden. After all the rain, i predict it will be epic this year. But i know myself well enough to know that i won't be staying ahead of the weeds too well... plus they are easier to pull all at once right?!

Now i'm off to look at plants to buy for these projects, and counting down the days to it being dry and warm enough to start cleaning up.