Planning, Planning, and (you guessed it) More Planning

Perhaps only JP knows the true extent of my brown thumb, but let's just say that I have a hard time preventing plants from giving in to their suicidal tendencies. It's tough to think about investing in a garden (even a low-water one), when my suspicion is that I'll kill everything. I like plants! I really do! I'm just not sure how much they like me.

Ironically enough, my dad studied horticulture in college. Unfortunately, I did not inherit his skill in the garden.

One thing I have never really done is invest time in planning a garden. Instead, I see a pretty plant, buy it, water it, and kill it. And since planting season isn't until fall, now is the perfect time to get started.

Below is the layout of our backyard. I truly want this to be a low-water yard. Obviously, it's a more eco (and wallet) friendly choice, but also the Texas summers are brutal to water-needy plants. And since I'm not the most attentive gardener, I'm hoping this means we'll still have a garden (with living plants) in 2012.

Let's start with the bare-bones backyard layout (there are actually a few trees, but I don't yet have exact locations for them):

I haven't even begun to work out which plants will go where, but here are a few pictures that are inspiring me (all Texas-native and low-water):





All photos are award-winning green gardens, courtesy of the City of Austin's website.

Happy Planting!