I thought I would show a few pictures about the way the plants in our central courtyard have taken off since everything was planted on February 25. Two and a half months!

The new plantings back in February:

And here is a similar shot now:

The elephant ears are going crazy. The leaves are around 20 inches across!

The backyard has started its transformation, too. Here’s a picture from before we moved in – overgrown hibiscus and bougainvilla. The yard seemed narrow because the hibiscus and bougainvilla jutted out half way across and you had to stoop to get under them to sweep up their mess!

So we had the landscaping cleaned up, new plants in a few places, and the walls painted. Now we can see what we have! Sorry about the pasted together photo, the yard is long and thin. The picture enlarges if you click it.

Bamboo is now planted against the left wall. The hibiscus is now stumps, but they have lots of new growth. The bougainvilla is doing great and we’re happy with how it is more architectural with the swooping trunks. The palm has been cleaned up beautifully.

We knew we wanted to live with it for a while once the plants were cleaned up so we could really get a feel for the space and how we might use it. The dogs need a place to “do their business” occasionally and we will use a barbeque once in a while. Do we want a pool? Hot (or cold) tub? We are trying to figure it out. We are thinking about gravel for part of it, anyway.

I cut this page out of a magazine a long time ago – but it might be a great way to get some shade out there. The cloth runs on wire so you can slide it up or down depending on your mood.

We are having fun thinking about all the potential here – and are hoping that some of our readers have ideas for us, too.

…here’s what we do…..

drink an iced café americano!