Back to the Back Forty (Redux)

I've not been lazy, I've been sick, with a mad cold, then a milder case of flu. Also, I've been learning to make soap. From scratch. With lye and stuff. Meanwhile, until recently, it's been too rainy or cold to work outside. But I did manage to get back to the Back Forty this past week or two.

First a little before and after:

Before, 2017

Before, 2017

Now, the Befores were actually Afters last year. These pictures were taken after I had finished landscaping a nearly barren back fence. Now, the 2018 Afters:

After, 2018

After 2018

You can see the pink jasmine grew to cover the wire trellis (second After picture, right side), extending the height of the fence from 6 to almost 8 feet. This from 1-gallon pots planted just one year ago. The chocolate vine (akebia quinata, 1-gal. pots) also grew as high as the wire extension (above wood fence), but was not lush enough to hide the neighbor's shed. So, you can't see it from these pictures, but I just added two, 1-gal. pink jasmines between the chocolate vines. I'm hoping they can peacefully co-exist.

Do you see the potato vine covering the metal trellis (second After picture, left side)? I bought that last year from a Lowe's clearance rack, nearly dead, for $1.00. Now it's completely covering the metal trellis. You probably can't see it on the middle trellis, but I just planted another potato vine for that one, too -- full price! It will also help hide the neighbor's yard and stuff.

Unfortunately, I made a mistake with the two, large tropical plants (second After picture, right side). I planted them too close together, and now they're too locked into the soil to move. Those, too, grew from 1-gallon pots planted less than a year ago. (If you see brown on the fatsia japonica, that's from an unusual, four-day frost we had this year. I lost quite a few plants to that.)

By the way, shout out to Lowe's (unsolicited, unpaid) for their clearance racks. My garden would not be nearly as lush as it is without their $1 and $3 pots, some for as much as 80% off. Some are marked down because they have some discoloration or dead branches, but others were fine, probably just overstock. But it's hit and miss, and you have to be dedicated to really mine their clearance rack. During the growing season, I go to Lowe's every week day, at different times of the day. Some days, there's nothing, other days are golden. Sometimes the plants are there in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon. And once they're put on the racks, they go fast.

The Back Forty is not all I've been doing in the yard this year. I'll post more later.