Theodore Payne Foundation tour 2016

After a three-year hiatus, we agreed--once again--to be part (house #11) of the Theodore Payne native plants garden tour, April 2. We hired a professional pruner to shape-up our gardens and filled in all backyard gaps with new plants and a small path of up-cycled concrete stepping stones. If I say so myself, our yards look especially glorious this spring. See for yourself what a little bit of rain can do:

 

 Ready for the hordes to descend--some 80 people

visited our gardens on tour day

 

Backyard: the calm before the storm

 

 Luckily, our octopus agaves (two!)

decided to bloom in time for the tour

and were both magnificent

 Close-up

 

Top of the blooming agave in the backyard

(note bees enjoying the blooms)

 

Base of the backyard agave, surrounded by burberry,

manzanita, and poppies

 

Backyard view through our leafing redbud

 

Wildflowers

 

Baby blue eyes (detail)

 

Happy homeowners! (Yes, that's a brace

on my knee--long story . . .)