There is so much in the house and garden and landscaping that I wish were already done-yesterday! But the truth is a lot of the really transformative things happen slowly and in the “off” seasons - and while they’re in progress they aren’t the most fun or the prettiest to look at (there’s def a life lesson in there that applies to more than gardening).
So I’m trying to appreciate the smaller, gradual, changes.
We planted these three, blue Italian cypress trees about 8 months ago in the back corner of the gravel lot that will eventually be a dry, Mediterranean garden (I read that in Provence tradition a trio of three cypress trees near the entrance of the house signifies hospitality, and thought that was beautiful). And while it will still be a while before they help visually obscure the ugly telephone pole and compost pile they share the corner with, they’ve finally grown a little taller than the fence line! And they’ll continue to grow up to three feet a year, which makes my very impatient heart very happy.
We have been using black plastic to smother “puncture vine” (Tribulus terrestris - “a tribulation on the earth”), which grows rapidly along the ground in our gravel areas and is just as charming as it sounds. It’s considered an invasive weed here and it thrives even in terrible conditions, producing innumerable thorny, shoe-piercing seed pods that are viable for 3-6 years. So really looking forward to putting a stop to all of that and rehabbing/reclaiming this area for more pleasant things.