Thank, Lynda! :D Maybe it is! Thanks you guys! I like the hill behind our house. It gives us a little more privacy and the HOA planted some nice drought tolerant plants back there. Some bloom a little, too, which is nice. I'm not really sure what to do next, because it's all so new to me! So I guess I'm kind of waiting to see how things fill in and how I feel about it. I'm welcome to suggestions if you guys have any. The only main plan is to add in an arbor.... which I'm still debating about that. I wanted a white one with a curved top and a bench. I was looking at the ones at Sam's... (vinyl Vienna Arbor) but dont' know if it warrants a membership just to buy an arbor. :) Though I thought it might be nice to add in some annuals to get a little more color this year while other things are growing in? My mom is sending me some more irises (purple ones). On that left-left side area... and maybe on the extreme right, I'd love to have some more significant patches of irises. I know they'll multiply after a while, but I'd love to have some more of them now (and I can always give some away to friends later when they multiply). :) I'd also like to put in some more catmint, salvia and daisies... and I want to get some wild violets from my friend's yard. We have some hummingbirds around here, so that's why I'd love to get some more salvia, even if they aren't my favorite color (I don't really want too much hotpink or bright red, but I'll sacrifice for them. I was considering adding some more morea... but now I was thinking spuria iris instead (Renee suggested them). I read up a little bit about them online and it looks like they might do well in our area. We have really hot dry summers and I have clay, alkaline soil. I think the high spikey shape is pretty on the sides and backs to contrast with the roses and other things. Here is a link that might be useful: Sam's Vienna Arbor

I'll second that, Jamie, about Azura's flower bed being gorgeous ... and I don't even LIKE purple or blue flowers, LOL!!! BTW, I thought that was sand too! I don't see so well anymore though. That's why I post such large pictures (my apologies for those of you with dial-up web connections), because it's the only way I can make out what I'm looking at. So far, the bunnies haven't discovered my veggie patch, but I have pulled out quite a few fat, green catepillars, and have to pull out bindweed on a daily basis. How were you guys able to pull up Jclepines photos? When I copy and paste those to the address bar at the top, it doesn't work for me. Bonnie

I realise the last post was a year ago - but what the heck... Just recently half-finished a major renovation of an old house (circa 1934) in Observatory, Johannesburg, and am now starting to get stuck into the landscaping. This is my third garden of sizeable proportions in the area - except that this time I decided to wipe the slate clean. Oh boy. Got the tree fellers in and ripped out all the old fruit trees, a very old Loquot and a couple of Australian Black Wattles (fiendish water thirsty weeds - good riddance) Anyhow - the terrain is terraced (located on the south side of the koppie) - but not too steep - so the ground is pretty well drained. Soil needs a lot of conditioning as it is mostly shale. Right now I've levelled the terrace closest to the house and in so doing got rid of most of the kikuyu lawn - easier said than done - noxious beast!!!! The big plan is to plant up an entire Highveld-like Savannah. But with a formal twist! And so to that end I've planted 9 Combretum Erythrophyllum trees like little soldiers and underplanted these with Sanseverias, asparagus, aloes (on the north side of the trees) - A. Chaubaudii/A. Forsteri + stunning new A. hybrids, Helichrysum Petiolare, Dierama Pendula, Grass aloes, crassulas, and GRASSES - oh several varieties - I cannot remember them all. One thing we in Johannesburg see a lot of is grasses - and I think that's why we don't pay too much attention. Pity we cannot buy most of these stunning varieties in the nurseries - but right now with the move towards indigenous landscaping, I feel it's about to change. Some of the large estate developments are showing the way with stunning results. Anyway - I'm grass hunting this Saturday, I've got access to a few lots past Fourways where I'll be digging up those yummy specimens for relocation to my backyard...... Piet Oudolf, eat your heart out!!!! Ha, I even rescued some beautiful grasses (it's now winter - so dried out and dormant!) off the top of a compost heap at my favourite indigenous nursery (with their permission of course) - yep - I think I'm totally hooked on grass. ha ha ha. Oh, and in-between the savannah I'm planning gravel footpaths and formal squares of different hedges, each at differing heights, to tame the wild and stand as silent sentinels of the bushveld. The real reason they're there is to pander to my obsession with pruning things - I figured it was better than punching walls - so I cut things. It keeps me calm. And the shrink agrees. On order is two large Aloe bainsii and 10 Cussonias to guard the pool. And more grasses.

Here's some Iris that I don't have names for. If any of you do, I would appreciate knowing. This has a smaller than normal bloom although the scapes are the height of any TBI. This is not the true color of this iris. It is a deep rust red and it's scapes/blooms are just over the leaves.Making it much shorter than the TBI..I don't know much about Iris but I know this type must have it's own name...is it a Standard? a Border? any one want to guess what it is? This is a TBI and in the next picture you can see it's true color on the far right of the photo. I have no idea what this is but since many of my iris came from you, maybe someone will recognize it. This is a photo of the 3 unknowns above showing a more accurate depiction of their color and height in relation to each other. Debbie