Front Yard With the white wisteria and the double-blooming cherry tree in bloom, my front yard looks the prettiest in the spring. When the wisteria is in full bloom, many passers-by stop to admire it. Unfortunately the wisteria seems to be dieing after 20 years, and I am not sure it will bloom this (2012) spring.

Trees Crape Myrtle tree blooms gloriously in August, but it makes a huge mess! Spent flowers in the summer and falling leaves in the fall keep me busy. I have several fruit trees in the backyard that puts on a show in early spring and provide fruit in the summer or fall.

Shrubs Since I didn't want to spend my time taking care of grass, I ripped out the lawn and planted a lot of shrubs and bushes, and covered the open space with mulch. I'm not convinced that I am saving much water, but I'm definitely free of lawn maintenance!

Roses Because of the sunny and dry climate in San Jose, roses perform very well as long as I provide them with water and fertilizer. The show they put on is worth the annual pruning they require.

Perennials I enjoy perennial plants because they require very little work and effort on my part. Without my help they seem to perform very well year after year.

Bulbs For some reason, I haven't gotten into growing many blurbs. Although I used to have many Oriental lilies, now I only grow 'Casa Blanca'. Freesias and babianas seem to have naturalized themselves. Tulips don't seem to naturalize very well because of the warm climate here, and thus I gave up on them.

Annuals - I don't plant many annuals, but some of them (such as columbines and morning glory) self-seed every year!