Wow, you have been busy. The patio looks really great. I love those pavers. All the plants look great too. I can't wait til my plants grow up some. My pink gaura is blooming like crazy from all the rain. I hope I can get a pic of it tomorrow.

F4F, you should post a picture of it. I use to have HUGE clumps of gaura in the front yard. By huge, i mean HUGE. 5 feet tall by about 6 across! They looked great during the winter when we get plenty of rain, but as soon as summer came along and water was scarce, they turned a dull, grey-green color and didnt look as good. I ended up replacing them with Tecomaria Capensis because they are drought tolerant.

You did a great job on your patio. It really looks nice. The plants look wonderful too.
Karyn

CC

Great job on the patio! It looks very relaxing. Plants look great too! :) Thanks for sharing your pics with us!

Mike

Fantastic job on your patio Josh; will you be adding an umbrella or some other form of shade? What does sechium edule fruit taste like? Beautiful fuchsia and I love your pomegranate tree!

Everything looks beautiful Josh. Very nice job on the patio! Oooo, You should get a fire pit, or an outdoor fireplace! We need to get a new one this year. I love ours, so nice sitting out by the fire. I love that smell.
I didn't know gaura got that big, holy cow, lol. Only one of mine out of 3 came back this year. The heaved over the winter, right out of their mulch, I guess that's what did them in. Kristy, I'm jealous yours is blooming already!

It didn't look very good either until the rain. I thought they were drought tolerant. I guess it wasn't getting enough water, lol. Its sunny today so I will try to get a pic after work.

Thanks for all of the comment everyone.

eloise, there is a jacaranda tree to the left of the patio but it is out of range in most of the pictures. It will shade the entire patio within a couple of years. About the sechium, it is eaten boiled and, depending on how long you boil it, can have a crisp texture or a soft texture. The flavor is very hard to describe, but you could try one out. They sell them at most grocery stores. I've seen them at food max, food for less, foods Co.....Here is a picture of some of the fruit i got from that same vine last november.


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Josh, I know what they are now, chayote! It is or is something like a squash. I've used them only a couple of times cut up in soup.

You got it Eloise. That's the name that it is known by the greater Mexican population. My parents know it by Oisquil, it comes from the language of the Mayan Indians in Central America.

And to keep this post going, lets just post photos of things that bloom in our yards all this month. Here are some more from yesterday and today:

A seed grown canna, and a clivia miniata with blooms


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Barbara Karst Bougainvillea, Generic Daylilies and a shrimp plant


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Ruby Red Grapes forming, and some Hosta blooms


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Recently planted Giant Bird of Paradise and the first Dahlia Blooms. These are miniature dahlias that my aunt gave us last year. My aunt worked at a Hines Horticulture Nursery last year and she always brought back tons of plants that were discarded because they did not meet standards for sale. Hines Horticulture is the nursery that supplies all of the local Home Depot, Lowes and the major home improvement stores.

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Eloise, this is the young Jacaranda near the patio.


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And finally, some shots of the sunset from my backyard


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