Home--Entryway and Side Yard

I'm finally getting these up! It's taken me ages because we're always working on something so things are always sort of a mess. I finally got things cleaned up a bit in the side yard one day and managed to snap a few pics! A few of Max's toys still make an appearance, but eh. They add character, and anyway, that's where they live. Here's the walk up from the entrance gate to the front door. I LOVE all the brickwork. I've just been filling this area up with plants. This area gets a lot of shade so I've been trying to find plants that do well in shady spots and are fairly low maintenance--so lots of coleus, lamb's ear, spider plants, some tropical plants that I don't know the name of and a couple of succulents tucked in for good measure because they're adorable and hardy no matter where you put them. I just want the house completely surrounded by plants! Is that weird?







And here is Billy's succulent/cactus/California Native plant garden. This came out great. We just keep tucking more and more succulents and cacti in over time.







We inherited that charming Native American woman pouring water fountain. It will be replaced one of these days but it's not super high on our list of priorities.

This is our tropical section with elephant ears, birds of paradise, papyrus, some lamb's ear, mint and moss. I know these last three are not tropical but they work here. In the past few weeks since I took these pictures the papyrus has grown completely out of control and this spot is pretty overrun and in need of a good pruning. At least the plants are doing well!




You can't even sit on that bench at the moment without getting a face full of papyrus. I love this spot--it was great for smoking. Sigh! Ah well, now it will be great for sitting and sipping tea while Max plays with his construction trucks nearby.