Here is another picture of our backyard in Florida. As you can see, I have a lot of work to do on landscaping. So far, I've been concentrating on flower beds close to the house and the pool because they are easier to water. We have an acre and no irrigation system (yet), so as you can imagine, it is quite a chore to water everything when rain is scarce. The crape myrtle you see just beyond the pool enclosure was planted by the previous owners. It's a little temperamental in the summer, getting some kind of lichen growing on the bark. A couple of years ago, it began to lose its leaves during the middle of summer, and I thought it was a goner. I mixed up a batch of essential oils including lavender, lemongrass, melaleuca, and a blend of oils called Thieves in a spray bottle with water and doused the whole tree. After a few days, whatever fungus was attacking it disappeared, and the tree recovered. Now if I could just find something that would discourage the fire ants which constantly plague us!