Point of View 2

I did a better job planning the front yard than the back for how it would actually look from different points of view. So the backyard is being gradually remodeled. "Point of view" (POV), how the garden looks from different vantage points, is unusual in my backyard because of the diagonal stucco wall that defines the back lot line.

From Outside:

The low pools of green are Coyote Bush 'Pigeon Point.'
Compost boxes hiding behind the bamboo fence.

Big trees beyond my garden wall are terrific "borrowed landscape."
Someday plants will cover the walls.
It's not a plant, but that big rotatable umbrella gives better sun protection than a lattice for less $.

I intended to plant my garden with landscape principles in mind: groupings of similar plants, and layering (taller plants in back), for a start.  This got hard in the backyard.  It has a long expanse of shaded wall.   When I went native I left a bunch of variegated Pittosporum tobira against that wall so it wouldn't be too stark. Because it has a soft grey-green hue, it doesn't stand out too badly.  Then there's the citrus in the middle of the yard.  For balance, it would want to be against the wall.  But that's too shady.

From Inside:

This is the (non-native section) view from my desk.  Definitely impeded by giant Italian Cypresses on the left.  The roses are pruned back, but very showy in a couple of months. The Bush Marigold (Tagetes lemmonii, an Arizona native) behind the sidewalk helps fill in when the roses are indisposed. A house full of Poinsettias in February is a pastor's occupational hazard.

The view from the Living Room has a lot of cement.  So I soften it with pots.  This is where my non-native impulse purchases reside.  Long bloomers especially welcome.   That lanky thing on the back wall is a climbing rose that languishes for lack of sun.  I haven't come up with a suitable native to replace it.  Ideas?

The big pot at left is non-native Podocarpus, essential in breaking up an expanse of wall.  The plants get taller to the back and sides.  Preserving this effect required giving away a giant Apricot Mallow that was out of place.  Despite an abrupt transplant less than a month ago, it is growing well in my neighbor Kim's yard.  The shed and other uglies are hiding to the right. I used to hate looking out the window at cement and lawn.  Now this POV from my bedroom brings me delight every morning.

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