Friday, April 30, 2010

Watching Growth

This is a shot of the SJC backyard about a year ago, six months after planting the bed on the left and a year after planting the bed on the right.
This is what it looks like today. I love to plant trees because they add so much structure to a space and this California pepper tree on the right is no exception. There are three of them nestled together in this bed, all growing at different rates. This one is the largest and is starting to shade out the plants below, which will mean a bit of an adjustment in what is growing there. That is fine with me. The way the tree is growing allows us to walk under, or sometimes through, the weeping foliage adding another sensory experience to the garden. I love it!

7 comments:

Turling said...

Amazing the transformation in just a year.

On the pepper tree, we have plenty here (it's the symbol of our city). Is yours a different variety, as ours tend to get about three stories tall and just as wide? Or will you be doing some aggressive pruning?

Chicken Boys said...

You have a beautiful yard. I hope mine can look that nice some day.
I planted a Maple last fall, and it's grown some since then. It's in the front yard. I'm looking forward to the shade it will provide, along with the Magnolia I planted, too.
~Randy

Sheila said...

Turling, they can get big, which I have no problem with, I'm looking for a shady backyard. I do have tree trimmers out every year because the palm trees need cleanup annually and I try to keep all my trees nicely laced out to prevent problems so they most likey will get some trimming as needed!

Amy said...

I love posts like this one. Your garden looks beautiful!

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

Sheila, your garden is so beautiful! Those trees add a lot to the garden charm.

Northern Shade said...

I can't believe how quickly that tree grew. It must be all the warmth and sunshine of your long season. Mature trees give a wonderful atmosphere to the garden.

danger garden said...

I wish that pepper trees would grow as far north as Portland! I simply love them.