Back Raised Bed

We painted it a brick red as a test; we were thinking about painting the house that color. It looks cool, but for the whole house it will probably be a bit much. Plus, it's dark and will suck up heat in the summer. The search for the perfect house color continues.

Camellia bush.

The fountain/pond in progress. That's a horse trough; credit for that idea goes to Julie. It's actually deeper than  ground level, which required some digging. Water will pour from the vessel into the trough. Flowers and plants will go in the bed. 

The Back Yard Comes Along, Slowly

Here's what the backyard looks like at the moment. We covered the ground with weed-block fabric and then fresh mulch. We had a bunch of concrete blocks left over from the front walkway, so I laid them out to make a walkway to the patio. That's a crepe myrtle tree in the foreground, and just past the gazebo you can see the cypress hedge.

A somewhat better shot of the crepe myrtle:

These are leyland cypresses, which are supposed to grow quickly into a tall, thick hedge. 

More Front Yard

Flowers around the fountain;

Some succulents in the 3-foot strip between raised beds and sidewalk.

I have no idea what these plants are.

Cactus Garden

We turned one part of the front yard into a zone for spiky things.