Pretty, but too scratchy, plants

It was a lovely day today. I think the high was around 80 degrees. I've decided that I'm a warm-weather girl. If for only the reason that it's easier to put on flip flops than socks and shoes. It was pretty wonderful to be able to wear flips and a short-sleeved shirt to lunch today. And we sat outside.
Brian and I also took advantage of the warm weather and cleaned up the backyard. Actually, I started it, and he was kind enough to do all my heavy lifting once he realized how much my task would entail. I had decided to cut back our three, quite huge, bougainvillea bushes in the backyard. They had all borne the brunt of the freezing nights, and all the flowers and leaves on the plants had died. So really, it was a land of brown and crusty bougainvillea. My original plan, truthfully, was to leave the third plant, but once I was done with the first two, that third one just looked too big. Brian had the big clippers, I had the small ones, and we went to work on this plant. It's definitely cut back, but it'll be green and growing in no time. I swear, our neighbor is probably having a party right now, because that third plant hung over the wall, and I'm sure was as much a visual eyesore for him as it was for me. But more than anything, I have the scratches to prove that I did battle with three bougainvilleas today. Scratches, scratches, scratches. Yuck. We also made a promise to each other to not ever have bougainvillea in our backyard. Even if we have a gardener -- someone else has to maintain the plant -- there will be no bougainvillea in the yard. Too pointy. And messy.