I've made a habit of taking my monthly wide shots from the same vantage points in my garden to facilitate comparisons over time. This month I decided to change things up a bit by posting photos taken from less obvious angles to provide a different perspective.
In some areas, getting a different angle is easy due to level changes. While my backyard may appear flat in most views, it slopes down a foot or more in front of the hedge (before plummeting steeply behind the hedge).
![]() |
| The usual view from the back door looking toward the harbor |
![]() |
| View from the dirt path that runs behind the backyard border in front of the hedge, looking north toward the mimosa tree (Albizia julibrissin) |
![]() |
| Another view further along the path: you can see the earth sloping downward beyond the Mexican feather grass (Stipa tenuissima) on the right |
![]() |
| View from the same path, below the mimosa here, looking back toward the south |
![]() |
| View between the trunks of the mimosa looking north toward the dry garden |
The path through the dry garden leads down onto the back slope. When we moved in, there was no path, nor any stairs leading down to the bottom of the slope. I didn't even know that section of the garden existed until I happened upon it during the pre-purchase home inspection.
![]() |
| The usual view, focused on the gravel path we installed through the dry garden in 2012 |
![]() |
| View from under the grape arbor looking back toward the house |
![]() |
| View from the upper portion of the cement block stairway that runs down to the bottom of the back slope, looking back upward toward the grape arbor |
![]() |
| After curving around the hedge, the stair my husband constructed leads almost straight down, pivoting just in front of the lemon tree. The property slopes down again about 12 feet beyond the lemon tree but that second drop represents the property line. |
There are level changes in the front garden too. The driveway slopes downward to the street.
![]() |
| The driveway slopes downward on a gentler gradient than the back slope |
![]() |
| This photo was taken from the dirt path that separates the Ceanothus hedge on the upper level from the Xylosma hedge that runs parallel to the street |
![]() |
| This photo was taken from the far northwest corner of the property behind a large Abelia shrub, looking past the garage on the left toward the house |
![]() |
| And this photo was taken from under the Magnolia tree on the south side of the front door looking toward another area where the ground slopes sharply downward |
![]() |
| Peering downward, you can see the flat area below our stacked stone wall and a peek of the succulent bed that runs below it along the street |
Just to the left of the red-trunked Arbutus 'Marina' shown in the last photo is the arbor that marks the entry into the south side garden on the level of the house.
![]() |
| The usual view looking at the side garden and the harbor beyond |
![]() |
| This photo was taken from yet another dirt path leading up from the area shown in the second to the last photo above |
![]() |
| And we come full circle here with this photo taken from the path behind the backyard border looking back toward the south side patio and arbor |
That's it for my May wide shots post. While these monthly photo shoots are useful to me in assessing developments in my garden, I expect the often subtle month-to-month variations in my photos are less interesting to those who read my blog. Rather than post monthly updates, I'm going to move to a quarterly schedule. My next wide shots post is planned for July.
All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
