Remodeling House Plus a Gorgeous Tree

More work done on the house today, as you can see. The first picture shows the stone being delivered to my house. When it hit the ground, a plume of dust rose up, which was pretty cool! Also, they were cutting some stone and I wanted to get a picture of that because sparks were flying. Rather dramatic, I thought. It didn't happen, so maybe tomorrow it will!

The new stone will be placed a bit higher than the old brick was, so that should be nice, plus it will meet up at the door. There will only be one larger planter instead of the three smaller ones. The new planter will be in the center. The contractor suggested a different shape than the plainer one that the architect designed. I think this will be nice. It will be covered with the stone of course.

Also, I had always told the architect that I was going to keep the camellias - they bloom beautifully in January and were a favorite of my mom's. On his landscape plan, they were nowhere in sight. They have a cute little round shape now (not the case when I moved in), plus I'll plant other flowers around them. Should be fun to showcase them! I had also told him that I was keeping the hydrangea, but he forgot and that isn't on the plan either. But I'm keeping it. The plant was moved to the back during construction, but will be moved back to the front and planted back in its old spot. It's a very old plant, as are the camellias, - maybe 40 years old or more? - but this past May, it bloomed better than it ever had! I even had compliments from Clare, a neighbor. Anyway, still looking for a landscaper. Need to have sprinklers put in, new sod, trees, etc. If you can recommend anyone, let me know!

These trees are still in bloom on Chapman Ave. This particular tree was planted at the gated entrance of some townhomes. Isn't it just incredible? Click on the picture to see the detail of the flowers and the bark - very striking. I've been told that it's a crape myrtle. I wonder what variety it is. Does anyone know? I would love to have one at my house. I wonder if I could plant it in the backyard? Of course, Nikki would pick up all the flowers and eat them, so it would have to be completely non-toxic. Comments or thoughts would be great! :-)