Starting the new year on a pretty note: backyard

In my previous post I showed you some highlights from the front yard. Now let’s do the same for the backyard.

To be honest, I’ve neglected the backyard for a long time, instead putting most of my energy into the front yard. Much of the backyard is in dry shade, and finding plants that do well in that kind of situation has been challenging and often disappointing. 

A few months ago, I started to build new succulent mounds (sneak peek here). They’re fully planted now, and I’ll have an update soon. In addition, I’ve begun to revamp other areas, including the bed we see from the kitchen and living room. I’ve decided to give this bed more water in the summer and have chosen plants that will provide a “lusher” look – quite different from the plant palette in the front yard:

We see this bed from both the kitchen and the living room. I’ve been replanting it with “lusher” plants.

A few closeups of the same area

Plants include Agave desmetiana, fern-leaf lavender (Lavandula multifida), foxtail fern (Asparagus densiflorus ‘Myersii’), Japanese holly fern (Cyrtomium falcatum), California gray rush (Juncus patens), variegated Japanese sedge (Carex oshimensis ‘Evergold’), Gasteria acinacifolia, Tasmanian tree fern (Dicksonia antartica), Brazilian plume flower (Justicia carnea), Mahonia eurybracteata ‘Soft Caress’, Cordyline australis ‘Torbay Dazzler’, Lomandra ‘Arctic Frost’, and Correa ‘Gwen Elliot’.

Most plants are still small so not as impressive as I’m hoping they will eventually be

Mahonia oiwakensis (back) and Agave dasylirioides (in container) are at the left end of the bed

Asparagus densiflorus ‘Myersii’ (left) and Agave dasylirioides (right)

South end of the backyard. The L-shaped sidewalk bed in the front is on the other side of the fence.

Agave attenuata ‘Ray of Light’ with several pups. I also have an A. attenuata ‘Boutin Blue’ and a regular A. attenuata planted nearby. They’ve never sustained any winter damage; the fence (on the right in the photo above) provides just enough protection.

Tillandsia secunda hooked over a chaste tree branch

Left: NOID epiphyllum Right: Another Tillandsia secunda and Epiphyllum ‘King Midas’

Several NOID epiphyllum

Two ×Vriecantarea ‘Julietta’ finally large enough to show good color

Vriesea fosteriana ‘Red Chestnut’

Since most of the plants in the two new mounds are new, I decided to cover them with a tarp to protect them from the rain. They would probably be OK as is, but I’m a bit overprotective this year after losing plants to rot in the last two winters.

Mound #2. The upended cart serves as anchor point for the tarp.

Tarp lit up at night by the motion sensor lights on the fence

Aloe helenae, Agave geminiflora, and Agave ovatifolia ‘Vanzie’

Agave ovatifolia ‘Vanzie’

Not a pretty sight per se, but the promise of what’s to come: We just removed the dying Japanese maple on the left and will eventually clear out the entire bed you see above. Our house needs painting, and once that is done, I will plant a grouping of totem pole cactus (monstrose form of Lophocereus schottii).

First Massonia pustulata flower of the year. There are four of them in this pot now. For 9+ months of the year, the pot looks empty. Then, in early winter, the leaves start to emerge, followed by the flowers.

Colorful Echeveria agavoides cultivars

I’ll have more posts soon about the changes happening in the backyard.

© Gerhard Bock, 2025. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.