A Pretty Mess

Our yard backs up to this huge wildlife preserve that goes for miles down into the everglades.  

It's very active and I adore all the animal and bird friends that come out of it to visit the garden.

We have to get permission from our HOA to plant just about anything major in the yard or to add additional beds or change the layout in any way.  *sigh*

So we've just left what was here when we bought the property about five years ago.  As you can see, it is plantings of gigantic proportions! 

The rubber tree sits between two gargantuan Washingtonia palms and the rubber tree appears dwarfed  -  and it's certainly not little being at least 18 feet high.  I love the pretty red color the leaf shows before it unfolds.

Crotons surround the bottom bringing balance to the tall plantings.

The previous owners stuck some Sansevieria in there as well.  

Behind the palms and rubber tree, is a chain link fence that our community put up to help keep the wild boar from coming in our yards, digging up the gardens and scaring women and children...

But if you look closely in the middle, it didn't do anything to keep the bears out.  Their weight has dragged down the fencing as they climbed over it.  Figures, they'd pick our yard to climb into!  

I've got most of the fence grown over with bougainvillea and passionflower thinking the thorny branches will help deter the bears from climbing over.  

I've also found that when the boug is in bloom, it makes a pretty backdrop for bird photos.  I put my camp chair fairly close and it's not long before the birds have gotten used to me and come in so I can get a few shots.

Well, you get the idea.  

Opposite the preserve, looking toward the house is where the real crazy begins, lol!

This is my nemesis - I LOVE the jungle look, but it is a difficult area to keep up with.  I'm out there with a machete, saw and ladder on a regular basis.  That is until rainy season begins and it's too hot and wet and then it becomes insanely overgrown until it cools down a bit.  

Although, sometimes nature will help clear it out a little.  This is storm damage from an earlier summer.

Early morning light shines through the preserve lighting up the jasmine.

All in all, being out back or sitting in the house looking out at my backyard jungle - I find it to be a lush, green and incredibly calming sanctuary that I like to call a pretty mess.