Backyard winter of 2000 This is our house when we bought it in January of 2000, no trees, no pond, no landscaping of any kind.  Just a few weeds where there should have been grass. Looking from the same angle as most of the photos below do, you can barely see the house during the grass.  My goal was to create a tropical paradise in our back yard.

Look how much difference 10 years make.  The maples (October Sunset) were 3' tall in 2000 and now are 40' tall 10 years later!

Every tree you see here was put in during the spring of 2000  Crape Myrtle is now in bloom

Plants on the plant shelf in the lower pond where my 18 to 36 inch koi live.  They are all bog plants that sit in plant stands so the koi can not get to them.  Left photo is Fireball hibiscus and the white Swamp hibiscus.  The photo on the right shows Lime-Leaf Taro in the center.  To the right is Canna Australia,  Behind the Lime-leaf taro is Egyptian papyrus (5 to 6' tall)  And behind the plant shelf are my banana trees that winter in the greenhouse

Left photo shows the plant shelf and some of the banana trees behind the pond  The right photo shows the Fireball Hibiscus and the path of banana trees with a stepping stone path going between the 2 rows of bananas

Rich in the pond vacuuming.  It is an "escape" for him from the 100 degree day.

Sunburst Canna                                                                                 Texas Dawn and Colorado hardy lilies in the upper pond

   Lilies galore in a riot of colors in the middle pond

   Upper pond with many lilies blooming daily now.  Toward the bottom of the photo by itself is Helvola a miniature hardy lily

Lotus growing and blooming for sales that start in January of 2011.  We grow them for 2 years before we dig and ship.