front yard beautification

Here is what is happening in our front yard! Large view for more detail.
The lawn was laid to rest with herbicide and then dug up by Grant & Mike. Instead of lawn, we now have Asiatic Jasmine/coco mulch for our ground cover as well as medium crushed shell. Ann Hall who is orchestrating the entire project, front & back, designed some lovely paths for me to walk on and also chose wonderful Florida friendly plants.  Around the mailbox are bush daisies and purple lantana (one of my favorites). You can see the new east palatka holly tree, it is standing tall behind the mailbox . . . and just the other day I saw a mocking bird fly to it and sit for a while! I am hoping to attract birds to the yard so this was exciting.

In front, to the right of the mailboox you can see the small orange-pink bougainvillea I've been taking macro shots of. To the right of the bougainvillea is a coco plum. The Royal Poinciana we planted is behind the bougainvillea but it is still so new and skinny you can hardly see it. One day it will look like this with gorgeous orange flowers.  Ann and Grant have also planted a firebush, a simpsoms stopper bush, some mexican bammboo, a Pink tabebuia tree, plus white lantana plants mixed in with our bromiliads. Other things will be planted after a small, low retaining wall is put in to the right of the Royal Poinciana  . . . 7 or 8 azaelas, a butterfly bush, and a pink jatropha bush which is so beautiful. A number of these plants are already here, staged and waiting . . . I promise to show the progress of both the front and the back, especially for the garden/landscape lovers peeking in, even if it may take some time to cover everything we are doing. It's fun and makes the yard so easy on the eyes!

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles today,
Tomorrow will be dying.
  ~ Robert Herrick, 1591 - 1674