I moved into a similar house that just had basic upkeep in 15+ years ago.
I just tore out a wall of creeping fig. I would rather look at the wall myself. It will get into the yard, I am fighting that. It is basically a weed IMO. I would rather had honeysuckle or trumpet vines.

thanks, I'm a bit afraid of that.

#1Creeping Fig can be quite attractive, but it's my understanding it needs to be heavily pruned to keep the leaves small. We have it, and I'm amazed at the area one plant can cover once it's been established for a few years.

I like Honeysuckle and Trumpet Vine, but they also will send underground runners everywhere.

#2 Passiflora has the same problems, but at least has pretty flowers.

#3 I'm not familiar with Cypress mulch, but I did find a product called "termite prufe". I'm going to try it on a mulched bed where I've had problems in the past.

#4 My Camillias never go dormant. I don't spray around them, but rather hand-pull.

I only have experience with camellias, and mine never go dormant either. They are green all year. I wouldn't spray around them with anything like Round-up.

I love my Passiflora for the Gulf Frit butterflies it attracts year round. You're correct, on the coast it doesn't go dormant, and mine is already blooming again. Some varieties are very invasive, others better behaved, and there's some really beautiful flowers to be had. GW has lots of info posted on this vine.

IMHO, Creeping Fig should require a 10 day waiting period to buy - in the wrong place, it's the same nightmare as English Ivy, and as difficult to control. I swear the stuff can stick to glass!

=^,,^=

slave: I would agree about the sticking part for the Creeping Fig, but it does cover certain walls nicely. But, the stolons can leave a mess if it grows onto wood.

Thanks all

I know what you mean Slave2thefur, I bought the creeping fig and then have dithered since. Maybe a waiting period or a training class ;-) I've decided to put in one, though, to cover a cinderblock wall. I just cut the bottom off the pot, to hopefully limit it a ground level.

Anyone want a creeping fig in So. Cal? in a five gallon pot, free for pick up! ;-)

The Passiflora has has been relagated to a pot, no ground for it.

And I'm still dithering on how to completely replant the front yard with shrubs and low water ground cover (and kill the bermuda grass that's there).

I completely tore out my front lawn 2 years ago, and converted to drought tolerant habitat, wildflowers and unusual flowers - simply cause I can! Every last bit of the grass had to be pulled - which actually wasn't that bad since it was planted on compacted clay / silt and never developed deep runners. All the soil was broken up (I got real buff) and heavily amended and mulched, and now it blooms year round. My neighbors water bill for lawn $80-100, mine is $5 (winter)-$20 (heat wave), and water prices are slated to rise 30%. Maintenance is minimal - now about an hour a month for tidying, and I resist deadheading some flowers in order to attract goldfinches to the seed heads.

If you are interested, I keep a running list of everything I planted and the growing requirements that I can send you.

=^,,^= diana

Here is a link that might be useful: urban jungle

Hi diana,

Thanks for sharing the pics. Yes, it does help and I love what you've done with the front yard. And that list of plants sounds great. I love Proteas!

I have a ton of questions, about what the soil was like, sun exposition, what kind of plants.

Whatever you do - don't plant English Ivy. The house that was recently built next door, had an old concrete slab piece wall - about 60+ years old that had to be removed with a bulldoser, before they could put up the wall. It took out my apricot tree, not to mention un-earthing a lot of awful sub-soil. But at least the ivy is gone.

The old wall also supported a ground cover - which I'm rather fond of. It is quite common, but a good solution to hold banks, and such. The nice part is - it attracts bees and is easy to pull up in unwanted places. It is Aptenia (mesembryanthemum cordifolium) - has a small succulent type leaf and either red or white flowers. It can withstand heat and drought very well. I use it a lot around my fruit trees to act as a cool mulch.

It probably would be best planted on top of the wall, and allowed to hang over, rather than grow up.

I loved the pictures - is Protea hard to grow or need any special soil/care? Tearing out my front lawn sounds like a good idea - (my water bill doubled recently - drat!)

Bejay

Thanks for the idea Bejay, I even have some of that growing around the house.

I planted some confederate star jasmine to train up a concrete wall that surrounds our patio. My stepmother can't wait for it to grow and put in a creeping fig as well (1 week ago). Now she's in a dither because it's not attaching to the wall. *rubs temples* It's a fairly large plant and we've removed the stake so it's just kinda slumped over. my question: should we stick some to the wall to begin training it in the right direction? I don't want it to start by going into the yard and never adhering to the wall.

any suggestions?

Bejay - the Protea (and other Oz / SA natives) are mixed with CA natives and drought tolerants plantings - little to no fertizer requirements. Most, but not all, prefer a more acidic soil than we have here in the West, but it doesn't seem to be a problem. The biggest issue - absolutely no phosphorus, and do not disturb the roots. They need full sun and ventilation to prevent mildew, and good drainage, which is why the beds were raised and heavily amended when built. 'Pink Ice', which is the easiest to grow, when from a stick to 5' in a year, and blooms heavily in summer. 'Brenda' is not quite so quick, but blooms in summer. Grevillea, leucospermum ('Tango' stops traffic) and leucadendron are also stars.

If you'd like, I have a doc to track what I plant, and it has growing notes in it. Drop me an email and I'll send it. =^,,^=