Project Gone Wild: The Jardín

The two photos below show the front patio area when I first cleaned it up, filled it with sand, and planted a few plants. The driftwood Pablo and I brought from El Salvador and the seashells were from local beaches.  Later it became overgrown with many of my throw and grow plants I put in.  I can't find a photo of it as the jungle it was of late.  The philodendron has grown up and provided a natural kitchen window curtain, and the papaya tree lived its life and is no longer with us.  

This is where the project called bed, bath and beyond got a little crazy and out of hand.  . When the workers made a mess of my yard with concrete and paint, leaving half my plants in a sorry state, the contractor asked if I wanted them to clean up the yard.  I said I would love that.  Frankly it needed someone else's attention since I haven't been able to get to it.  This project was on the back burner for a while and I thought the cleanup ended when they trimmed the bushes and cut off dead leaves and pulled weeds, etc.  Good old miscommunication.  I must have given permission for a complete landscaping job.

I was surprised when Juan, the contractor, showed up  the other day with Jorge Junior, of Jorge's Organic Farm, here I've linked a copy of an article written by Beryl Gorbman about the productive family farm .  First Jorge brought a huge pile of consumable vegetables for me.  Fresh leafy lettuce, a huge bunch of radishes, bok choy, a huge bag of chaya, several beets, a few mangos, a watermelon and a huge bouquet of spearmint. We are eating a lot of radishes and I have to decide what to do with the chaya, but the rest of the goods were real good eatin'!   Fresh organic veggies and fruits, the best.

In the back yard he planted cilantro seeds, radish seeds, habanero plants, an epazote plant, two sunflowers, other flowers I've not seen before, re-used and replanted all the rootbound pots I had. Jorge got rid of my mosquito collecting plants and replaced them with more useful greenery.  The back yard pics will look better after the new plants get used to their new home.  I'll post them later. 

The front patio, however, went through a major overhaul.  I think the guys just really got into it.  They tore almost everything out.  Now there are roses lining the walkways. They started a flowery vine with yellow flowers to join or replace the philodendron.  Plus they planted grass.  It's a small area of grass but it will be so nice to have ANY grass that I'm looking forward to it. I am also being good about watering.  That's the toughest part for me, being a constant gardener.

I've seen tuberose in the flower market, but now I have one growing in my yard.  They are beautiful and the most fragrant of flowers. If you look closely you can see the grass.

I thought this mix of plants with the canoe and driftwood was quite clever. It proudly upholds and honors the story of the original Dorton canoe, which began back in the early 90's.

Beautiful and fragrant roses.

Chile parado.

Juan is a great coordinator of work projects and Jorge is a very talented landscaper - quite knowledgeable about plants.  Although I wasn't planning such a major change and elaborate garden, it's beautiful and if we have a kind rainy season should look really good in a few months.  If not, pray I become a more constant gardener.