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my mohter in law had lived in a rental house with two detached garages on the alley. in between the garages there was a sidewalk they kept the garbage cans. she put up a trellis and trained a bouganvilla to go up the trellis and onto the roofs of the garages. it did a great job hiding the trash can sidewalk. she pruned it regularly.

however, the previous owner at my house NEVER pruned ANYTHING and the bouganvilla was WAY out of control. (you couldn't walk around the pool sidewalk with out getting poked by a thorn. which was why it had to come down...) we now have a potted sago palm in it's place.

Oh Rellie that is a good choice! My mom has a circle driveway and they are planted in the middle with 3 lights shining up through the plants....They are great plants. Neighbors across the street from me must of put in 10 of those lining the street! Word of caution...they can still getcha but just by poking....no biggy!!!

I have a ?....how did you get the bouganvilla to stop sending out new shoots?

well, we dug up the root system as much as possible, (not much success there) my husband considered hiring someone to dig it up, then i had the idea to cover it with dirt, and set the potted palm right on top of it. we'll just deal with shoots individually as they come up. may not be the most prudent way, but works for us.

hey, Nicholas, want a couple Bird of Paradise? You can have some from my front yard at no cost.. just your own labor of getting them up.

Hey REllie,

Thaks for your offer, but I have 3 BofPs already in the back yard, and wasn't planning on putting any in the front. I'm hoping to rediscover drought tolerant plants that aren't as conventional as Bougainvillea, Bird of Paradise, or Pampas grass (sp?). I know it's going to take a little while, but with the help of folks like catlover (see her February 3rd posting), I'll soon have a good list to research and select from!!

re. Bougainvillea, I just got in from pruning my two in the back, and definitely drew blood! I'm trying to get them to grow up and over the front of the patio, and then join in the middle...

Allthumbs another plant suggestion:

*False Heather....purple blooms, low growing. BTW they are in the nurseries around here now! Also saw some at K-mart while there but got mine at the Do It Center. Ace would probably have them as well.
http://plantsdatabase.com/go/676/

Is this more what you are looking for?

FYI...My Chamelaucium....wax flower is blooming now....How pretty! and it is kind of an open whispy looking plant. It's a keeper!

Nicholas, I just saw a "california redbud" on HGTV. maybe you would like something like that?
http://www.californiapictures.com/redbudtree-01.html

Wow! What a beauty!

I've planted 4 redbuds in the front already, and am keeping my fingers crossed that they will grow (I grew them from seed, and they're now about 2 feet high, but seem to have stopped, as soon as I transplanted!!) We'll see what spring brings!

COOL! How big do they eventually get? the one in the picture looked rather large... keep us posted.

oh, i just scrolled up to the picture you posted before. was that taken before planting the redbuds? where are they in relation to that picture?

Don't have pics yet. As soon as I have some, I'll post. They only look like twigs in the ground right now, though.

We have a lot of lawn, but I'm getting rid of it a little at a time. We put in a hill and planted 9 trees at the road. Last year I tillered up the side yard and made a flower garden. Eventually we won't have so much grass. It's too much work.