Yard improvements

We've been slowly getting the yard in shape for the summer. It always takes more effort in the early spring than it does to keep it going through the rest of the year. I also rebuilt the pond waterfall and restocked the pond with goldfish (most of them died over the winter). The plants are finally starting to fill in around it. I still have a grand vision of what I would like to do, but because of other places to put our money, I have the scaled down version for now.

Here's the waterfall:




I'm also trying something new this year....I planted some banana trees. It's not likely that they would produce fruit with our shorter growing season (for tropical plants), but even if they do some day, they wouldn't be edible. They are cold-hardy banana trees and if I insulate them this fall, they should winter just fine. (At least others in Utah have been able to keep them alive.) I thought it would be fun to add a tropical flair to the back yard...and also fill in a gap where our neighbors can look over the fence into our yard. They should get at least 5-6 feet tall this year, but they are just now starting out. They put out a new leaf about once every 4-5 days. We'll see how they do.