Wide Shots - December 2013

A few months ago, Heather of Xericstyle launched a new meme to capture wide views of her garden and the gardens of other contributors.  Like many gardeners, I tend to focus on individual plants or isolated combinations of plants when photographing my garden so participation in Heather's monthly post gives me an opportunity to literally pull back and take the broader view into consideration.

Although I continued to tweak my back border in November, I'm not sure it looks markedly different than last month.  There's certainly less in bloom than there was in spring and summer but there are still some touches of floral color even now.  Frost is rare in our area and, although the nighttime temperatures are dipping lower, our daytime temperatures have continued in the low 70s, only occasionally dropping into the mid-60s.

View of border from backyard door

View of backyard border from new side yard pathway

Border from right side end

View from left side end

I also continued work on the "new" side yard garden in November, filling in some of the remaining holes.  Other than adding some additional thyme between stepping stones, I think I'm done futzing with it for the time being.  I'm hoping our winter rains and time will help the plants fill in.

View of side yard from front lawn area

View from side yard patio

View from back lawn area

View from narrow pathway behind the backyard border across the lawn to the side yard

There's very little color in the front border at the moment.  I cut most everything back, with the exception of the shrub roses, in late October and early November.  I've recently added a few annuals but they haven't swung into bloom yet.  The reblooming Hemerocallis 'Spanish Harlem' put out individual blooms now and then but their fall display is no match for their spring fanfare.

View from the patch of lawn bordering the street toward the house

Right side of the front border

This month I thought I'd also add shots of my dry garden on the northeast side of the house.  I haven't made any massive changes to this area in the last few months but I've made minor tweaks here and there, removing a few plants to make room for others.  With the exception of the 2 guava trees, this area was mainly dirt and rocks when we moved in nearly 3 years ago.

The pathway through the dry garden leads to a rough stairway down the slope at the back of the lot

The dry garden photographed from a small patio area on the northeast side of the house

Dry garden photographed from the stairs leading down the slope

I'll leave you with a few shots of the view of the horizon from the backyard.

Cruise ship in port in the LA harbor Saturday afternoon

An uncharacteristically clear view of the mountains to the east with a nearby neighbor's flagpole, decorated with Christmas lights, in the foreground

A night view of the neighbor's flagpole Christmas tree in lights, 20 or more feet tall, visible from my home office

How's your garden looking in the wide view?  Visit Heather at Xericstyle for other wide views.