Three years ago when we bought our house, the courtyard was a mess!  Below is a picture so you can see for yourself!

We moved in here in September, and by October we were already having the courtyard overhauled.  If you want to see the step by step, visit the Photos page or click here.

The work was finally done around Christmas, and it wasn’t until February 25, 2008 that we actually planted the beds.  The pictures above and below are the newly planted courtyard:

So today, it is two years and three months later.  Below are a couple of pictures to illustrate how fast things grow.

To me, the most amazing things are the palms, all three of them.  The areca palms in the corner are now way higher than the wall.  The traveler palm (which was actually planted a year later than everything else) is gigantic!  It was about 3 feet tall when we planted it!  And the Windmill Palm that was in the courtyard when we bought the place is unrecognizable!

The traveler palm is in the same family as the bird of paradise, and if you look closely you’ll see that it is blooming right now.  The reddish flower at the top of the picture just above is actually growing along the roof beam, it is a favorite of mine called the Mexican flag because it is red, white, and green.