Avocado and something else here. Plus a mystery hedge behind bench. Not sure if she’ll leave bench but I have a nice white one I’ll use . Add an arbor to the walkway too .

All this will come out for roses. Wouldn’t pinks look so pretty on the green walls !! I am thinking Olivia Austin’s and maybe crocus too.. and something to frame he front window . Window boxes would thrill me . Brian requests no leggy roses up front . He really hates how some grow , I usually ignore that but out here I will oblige . :)

This house doesn’t photograph well to convey size . It’s is over 2900 sq ft , bigger than my last home .. but looks like a cottage . It’s bizzare !

this area Brian said I can work with. He loves the next area I show and wants some grass so I said that’s fine . I think an arbor and path with roses could work here ? Also found a purple trumpet vine plant I really want to try .. maybe back here as it gets large

There is about 7 fruit trees in the property. Brian is so excited about them . I have no idea a thing about them so I’ll learn. I do think it’s neat and will be great for the kiddos . I saw at a garden center nearby how much they cost and was shocked. For a bearing size smaller tree it was 200 and up so this lady must have been very excited for fruit ! Haha

There is a row of 30 of these red roses behind the pool. So you know me .. I’ll squeeze 45 . Lol

just kidding ... kinda .... but I do want to make it color cohesive. I’d like to paint the wall first but husband dosnt love that idea ..

We love the palm trees !

Heres some of the house if you don’t mind.

Congratulations! Your new house looks awesome! It looks great now but can't wait to see what you do with your "magic touch" on it. When do you move?

Thanks mustbenuts !! We have to wait 30 days from now . So excited for that to pass !! I’ll be visiting as much as I can around here to keep a toddler from going nuts in a hotel . :)

Wow..it's beautiful! You have lots of space to plant and some nice plants to keep too if you want to.

Lilyfinch, looks like a lovely home and yard. With your special touch it will be even more beautiful! Lucia looks so cute! Pretty good artwork for a three year old. My five year grandson is a dinosaur expert, well according to him anyway.

Congratulations! Very nice Lily. I am sure it will become even more amazing when you add your rosy touches! Your daughter looks so happy too!

Oh,

When you get settled, there are many family-friendly restaurants in the area, and for a couple's day, there are vineyards, hot air ballooning, etc. in the area too...

I’m so happy for you, I love looking at all the pics of your new home and travels. Now I feel like we all found our new California home! Congratulations! The house, yard, pool, Lucia and dinosaur park...looks like everything is falling into place so well.

That yard is huge considering you have a pool too! (I have one too, so I have carved out big rosebeds in the front of the house...you’ll make so many friends as you garden out front with interesting roses!).

Also wanted to note the tree out front might be an avocado...my mom’s looks just like that!

Oh, and thanks Lisa you are so sweet!

Congrats Lily! What a beautiful home with a pool! A happy life in CA starts there! :-)

Congratulations! Your house is gorgeous inside and out! I do t have much to add as I think your ideas are all wonderful. I especially like you plans for the side yard and the potted area. If you know where the underground stuff is you could build some raised beds as well.

Wow, that place looks amazing! If I were you I'd replace the "mystery hedge" behind the bench with fragrant roses, so you could sit there and enjoy their scent. That wall with the red roses would be a great place for big teas to spill forward from... Is there a chance you could enlarge the bed and put climbers against the wall (teas and tea noisettes that take heat?) and put a row of roses in front? How exciting! You can grow beautiful citrus in CA, as well as edible and beautiful passionfruit vines! So fun!

Congratulations! House buying can be stressful - so glad it worked out for you. And, it looks like the current owner took really good care of her home, which is a huge plus!!!

Re things to do, I lived in San Diego for awhile & a lot of people with young kids buy an annual family pass to the San Diego Zoo & Wild Animal Park. During the summer it can be too hot to enjoy (especially the Wild Animal Park - the Zoo is closer to the coast, but also a farther drive from where you are). But, fall to spring it's great - if you have the annual pass you can just go for an hour or two & then leave when the kids (or you!) start to get tired - you don't feel obligated to stay all day to get your money's worth.

Congratulations, Lily!! What a great place! I’m excited to the transformation! I think you’re going to love gardening in SoCal! :-)

Nice place, and lots of space to garden.

We visited san San Diego twice last year, lovely city, especially enjoyed the zoo.

Congratulations!

Wow Lilyfinch wonderful new home. I think your new home and yard have wonderful potential. The outdoor space with such pretty pool and hot tub will be such a wonderful thing to have for your family and pregnancy time ( it has to be great to be able to relax those tired lumbar muscles in a hot tube at the end of the day) =). So excited for you. I noticed you have a lot of new yellow tips in the new property, if you decide to keep some they are very low Maintenance.

It's always exciting to have a "blank slate" to work with. Of course, what I originally budgeted for phase one at my new home site and what we actually spent were two totally different amounts. It appears now that phase two might get done here in, oh, about three years. :) Beautiful home Lilyfinch. Good luck!

Yay!!!!! Congrats...I knew since you had a positive attitude about it that it would all work out well. I can picture tons of roses in that yard for sure!!!

I’m 32 and still love dinosaurs.

Congratulations on the new place! I’m sure it’s great to relax and not have to wonder anymore!

Congratulations! House and yard look fantastic. Lots of potential for gardening. Pool is such a find.

So happy for all of you and can’t wait to see what you accomplish in your new environment! The pool will be wonderful for Lucia and baby-he/she will probably swim before they walk:)

Nice home & yard, Lilyfinch! I’m excited for you!

Thank you everyone!!! I’m so grateful for all the comments .. I can’t wait to work on the gardens over winter . I don’t love the plants except the asparagus ferns so I will redo all of it . I definitely want to rip the mystery hedge out .. after I figure out what it is. It has wilted blooms on it but is not roses .. let’s see if anyone has a guess ?

Oh Carla I don’t know if there are?! Yikes. I better look into it . That’s all new to me .

Whatever this is , she planted a lot of behind the red roses . Is it worth keeping ?

I had a blast at a garden center yesterday looking at all their plants. It made me so excited to get started!

I wonder if mystery hedge is one of the variations of ‘Lady Banks Rose’?

https://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.5263.26&tab=36

It doesn’t look much like a rose to me either, but is used rather extensively here because it is carefree and evergreen. Personally I’d prefer something larger flowered and more colorful, especially since you live in a climate that’s very low disease pressure.

Your new home looks so beautiful, inside and out! How exciting! I’m glad you found a suitable place with such a short time to look. That must have been hard. Your taking this all with such a cheerful attitude. Blessings on your and your family in this new place! Can’t wait to see how you transform the yard. :)

Lucia is so cute in front of the dinosaurs! And considering that my four year old has not a shred of artistic talent and hasn’t made it past blobs with eyes, I think her drawing is pretty good, too. :) lol

Hmm Ben that’s interesting!! It may be the white one ? It is strange that she used that as it’s cut to 3 or 4 ft across. That’s some serious pruning for something like that . I totally agree I don’t want a once bloomer or something uninteresting.. I really liked my “generous gardener “ behind my bench before and could use that again or something bolder . It is going to be so hard to keep the shovel out of my hands all summer when it’s too hot to plant!!

Dilly : thanks !! I’m trying to enjoy this process as much as I can . My husband is so excited about California I hate to bring him down so o decided early on I would try my best. I really could cry at the size of the yard though .. I was spoiled before! Haha it’s wonderful that there is so much to do here with Lucia . Where we were before, we had done most of it ! Now new adventures!!

I think it’s amazing how kids grow and learn and take interest in certain things . My nephew is 3 also and is an “actor” . He loves to put on productions for everyone! Lol

It’s great seeing the extra pictures that I didn’t see earlier! I’m not sure what that plant is. Could it be some sort of Jasmine? On first glance the leaves reminded me of a clematis, but not quite. It must be some sort of bushy vine type thing that’s cut to remain in a bush shape. Maybe it will rebloom, once deadheaded. Lisa

Lulu looks so happy in every picture. She’s on vacation! It’s going to be like a forever vacation for her with that pool! It’s a beautiful place with so much gardening potential. Lisa

Jen, when I saw the first photo, my thought was how will you feel living in somewhere so much smaller. How wrong I was! It's ginormous. I'm glad you found somewhere so quickly, and so pleased that Lucia loves the hotel pool. She will be thrilled to have one all of her own. (I love the swimming costume she's wearing.) I think the drawing is quite exceptional for a 3yo.

I know you are going to transform that garden, and am so looking forward to seeing what you do with it. Good for you, being so positive.

I hope Brian's situation has improved?

Trish

the stressful part is over and now you can focus on the fun stuff

I am sure you are kind of sad going from such a large yard to a smaller space, but as you embark on your new journey and being excited... it will make things easier... attitude is everything... I am sure you will find a way to cope.... the pool will help :) Anyway, I am not sure if this is anywhere close to you, but I saw a youtube video years AGO... I was so envious (in a good way), but she has a much smaller place than mine, but it is so well done... maybe it can give you some inspiration - and she even has a pool.. that she puts roses around....

By the way, I HATE palm trees.... I don't know what kind yours are, but I have both cabbage palms and royal palms... there roots are HORRIBLE and take over EVERYTHING... I lost a lot of own root roses when I first got started growing roses, the royals root choked the poor babies out... you might want to find out about your palm trees and their root systems

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLq8gQbLJA8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9h4fMliSgY

By the way, are you going to grow zinnias.... I loved your pictures of them... you inspired me to grow some of them....

Have you checked out the rose society there? I am sure they will be able to help you too... you guys convinced me to join mine...

Keep us informed of the progress of your home, your garden, and the roses.

Sharon