Spring Fever

I don't know what it is, but every springtime, it feels like the garden is calling me. I am not much of a green thumb, as you can see with our backyard renovation, I keep it sterile. The only time I really tended to a garden was 13 years ago, when we used to live in Antioch, CA. It came with a lush landscaping-- both front and back. It has a marvelous in-ground pool and mature trees. I loved that garden, I spent my weekends tending to the roses. I trim the hedges and made sure the lawn is manicured. We added queen palm trees on our front and backyard. I've enjoyed living in that house because of the outdoors. We have a pergola covering the built-in barbecue, which allowed us to eat outdoors most of the time.

One part of me wishes that we hadn't sold the property, but the wiser part me says I'm glad we had. Of course, this realization came now as my body is no longer as strong as it was. Since turning 50 last year, I have been trying to simplify my life, that is why there'll be no more back-breaking gardening for me. In addition, there is a drought problem here in California. So, my plan is to create a low-maintenance and drought-tolerant garden.

Aside from the three potted New Zealand Flax and one potted kangaroo paws that are now happy in our backyard, I have recently added three more pots. One small pot holds a mix of two types of kalanchoe-- one hot pink and one orange. It's placed next to the kangaroo paws. Kalanchoes are succulents, which make them also drought-tolerant. I plan to add more kalanchoes of diiferent colors--- white, green, yellow, and red.

Kalanchoe

The two identical bigger pots contain identical plants that are now placed on our front porch, flanking our front door. I have yet to find the tag that came with them so that I can identify these lovely plants. We bought them to welcome and keep our hummingbirds. I searched via Google images and did not find anything identical.