Wow that was a lot of work! I really love the retaining wall. The overall effect is beautiful!

I want to do something like that. We have some hilly areas here.

I am glad you kept your lychee tree. Does it make good fruit?

I have a Longan but have to move it inside an outbuilding in the winter. It would be nice to just plant it and leave it lol. It seems to fruit every other year.

Thank you Sultry, we are very happy with the results. People passing by are commenting about the wall that it adds structure and beauty to the project. In years to come all the plantings are going to look gorgeous when they grow.

The lychee tree was producing very well and tasty fruits, with the cold snap is going to take time to recover.

Silvia -- looks fantastic.

Now, is the helicopter pad ready in the backyard...when I come to visit?

Tony

Hi Tony! Thank you! You are welcome anytime that you want to come to visit us.

The best part of the new landscape is the easy care of the plants, they will be low water once established. It is a peaceful walk around the garden now.

What a lot of lovely plants you have now! Those roses are so pretty 😃

I'll bet you'll be getting lots of butterflies

Thank you Carol, the new garden looks better than the pictures, I love the peach roses, the blooming azaleas and there is also a butterfly garden. Butterflies , bees, birds are welcome in our yard.

We are very happy with the low maintenance, it will be trimmed once a year. No more grass to worry about.

Off topic -- but Silvia and I exchange recipes.

For those who love TANDORI NAAN BREAD this one is super easy:

120 ml warm 105F water

8 grams yeast

3 grams sugar

let sit 10 min

-----------------------------------

270 grams flour

3 grams salt

----------------------------

add yeast mix, add table spoon oil, add 80 ml yougurt

mix, knead, let sit 1 hr to rise

---------------------------------------

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnzBkCkv9gs

That bread sound good Tony, I like all the Indian breads and I remember when I was there long time ago...

How beautiful, Sylvia! I love the wall. So nice not to have to mow or rake leaves from the oaks anymore, right?

Looks like 2023 will be the year a lot of us "tame" our gardens. My sons are coming to visit the end of February, after which I will get to work on downsizing mine and making it less labor intensive.

>"My sons are coming... after which I will get to work on downsizing mine" ___ Change to "... during which..." , and you probably will have their help.

Hi Deb! Thank you, the oaks are nice when they have a lot of space to grow, in my house they were damaging the pavement in the driveway and the foundation of the house, it is all repaired now.

And yes! less labor intensive is a good idea and that was one of the reasons for the Florida Friendly landscape besides adding beauty to the garden.

I am glad that your sons are going to visit you and the plans for downsizing will work well for you. Keep us posted on the changes and good luck to you.

Tony, thank you for the Tandoori Bread recipe. I have never made it. Is this a bread that you roll out flat and stick onto the inside of one of those fired clay ovens? I wonder what I could use since I dont have an oven like that? Just a cast iron skillet?

Hi, yes it is (tandoori oven -- super hot -- they also do curry lamb, etc. in them).

The video shows using non-stick and also cast iron skillet -- I've only made it in the non-stick so far, and it's quick and delicious!

here is the video again:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnzBkCkv9gs

Best prices I found on those amazing Bedekar pickled mango/limes

free ship. on $50 order

https://www.zifiti.com/search-result?act=search&SEARCH_EMPTY=NO&SELLER_NICKNAME=&ITEM_ID=&device=mobile&ITEM_TYPE=All&SRCH_SELLER_ID=&SEARCH_STR=Bedekar++Pickle

my favorite;

Bedekar Mango Pickle - 14 Oz (400 Gm)
Price: $3.99

my wife's:

Bedekar Mango Lime Pickle - 14 Oz (400 Gm)
Price: $3.99

four - my sons have much to do while they are here, and they won't have time for gardening, so I'll get them to do the other stuff so I can have time for the gardening when they leave.

Wow!! Beautiful Silvia!! Love the retaining wall, it adds so much character to the front of your house!

Best of luck with the transplanting of your Lychee, I'm sure it will do quite well by summer!

Thank you Nancy! We are very happy with the new landscape, it is low maintenance and as it grows is looking better all the time. With the cold snap that we had we only had to cover a few butterfly plants.

The lychee lost some leaves but will come back because it has some strong roots. The variety that I have is one year it fruits less and the next more, the good thing is that this year was supposed to be the less harvest, we will see. I am more worried about the mangoes this year.

The transformation looks great and the retaining wall add structural bones. I like all of the flowers in the front. It has been a while since I was at your house. Does the front mostly get the morning sun?

Hi Garden_gal

Thank you, I remember when you came to the garden parties, we had a lot of fun.

We are very happy with the new front yard, it has a good variety of plants, flowers, ground covers, grasses. It is already looking better with the new growth. It is on the north side and gets mostly morning sun.

If you are some day in the area, come visit us and see the garden in person.

Your yard came out beautiful! Very dramatic before and after. I was imagining it as those flowers are get bigger and bigger. Nice❣️

Thank you JoanM

We had to take everything out, to open up the space and put all the nice plantings that we could fit in the design, it looks peaceful and orderly for us and the neighbors. I see the people stopping and looking at the flowers, when looking up close you can see the ornaments and water features. There will be pictures when the garden grows.

Silvia, I love water features. Please, post pics.

We built an indoor pond with waterfall in our Florida room that's been a tranquil joy for us.

Tony

Wow ! Tony you have a beautiful indoor pond and waterfall. I am sure is very tranquil and provides meditation moments.

There will be pictures when we are done, there is more to come..

Sylvia,

I would love to see how your garden if I am up in that area sometime. I have been thinking of a Florida native nook in a part of my garden as well.

Tony,

The indoor waterfall is beautiful. The orchids and flowers pop against the stone an water.

Fantastic

Hi Silvia, any new photos to share.

Hope all is well.

Tony

p.s. My wife is in Europe for a couple of weeks, so I'm playing with steak marinade ingredients for filet mignon (the only steak I marinade since while the most tender has the least flavor). Have settled on the final ingredients, now need to get the right ratio. My experiments are making the boys very happy, since I'm grilling fillets every day...lol.

steak marinade:

ounce of brandy, balsamic vinegar, raw sugar, olive oil, ground rosemary,

ground black pepper, soy sauce, ginger powder, whole allspice berries

Hi Tony, we just came back from a European Whirl tour that took us to 7 countries and 9 cities, most of them I already visited them before. My very favorite this time was Lucerne, Switzerland.

The garden looks amazing and growing well, everyone that walks around the house gets to enjoy the flowers. I will take some pictures soon.

We are preparing for this Saturday party at my house....

Today's picture

That sounds great Tony! Great choices to move, love to see some pictures. You will have a different gardening season, I had the best tomato season ever this year, I gave away a lot of tomatoes, still have some to make sauces and salsas.