But, things are still happy.

The back, which is mostly Horse Herb, 

is greening up.

The Lantana is finally blooming.

The Ruellia is finally blooming, too.

I was beginning to think they'd just skip this summer.

And, the Plumbago is putting on a show.

The heat has returned.

There have been a lot of triple digit days here.

But, the forecast is for cooler and wetter days ahead.

We just cross our fingers, when we hear these forecasts.

But our Texas Sage, which is always reluctant to bloom,

is putting on a blooming show.

It's suppose to be a good omen for rain.

Let's hope the sage, and the weather guys,

are right.

We're certainly ready for some rain again.

And, cooler weather would be even more welcome.

Hope all is good in your garden.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

This is the back of the house last fall.  Yep...it was dry out there.

A couple of years ago, I dug out a small bed back there.  

It wasn't much, but it worked for the time.  I had other irons in the fire.

You can see one of my solutions for shielding plants from deer....upside down tomato cages.

It actually works...sometime.

I had wanted a raised planter box along here.  But, the moaning that occurred whenever I mentioned the 300 landscape bricks and all the loads of soil to fill it, made me rethink what I wanted.

So, on to the new plan.  

We dug a bed, added some compost, and put bricks and rocks along the edge.

It's looking pretty good, so far.  All the plants are from other areas of the yard....

Autumn Sage, Prickly Pear, Candy Lily and Iris, Salvia Leucanthus...and some Mexican Feathergrass babies.

I moved what I hope is a Coral Vine to grow up this trellis.

It's all drought resistant.  This area gets LOTS of afternoon sun.  

Right now, we're enjoying the blooms on the Prickly Pear.

So, it looks a lot different.  I think I like it already.  And, when everything fills in, I'll like it even more.

Ah...the Last Frontier.

Well....maybe.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

We finally got to work on the Front Driveway Bed.

This is the way it looked last August.  Dead grass...awful railroad ties.  You can see the lovely view of the power boxes...ugh!

When we redid the Island Bed, we had chopped limestone left over.
We weren't going to use that on this side.  But, it worked out well.


So, here's where we are now.


We worked fast, between rains.

We dug out weeds and grass and lined the whole thing with limestone.

We ran out of the new stone.  So, we just borrowed from the other side of the house.
That makes the stones along the driveway sort of match...they're the same age.
Of course, now we have to replace those stones on the side of the house.


I moved this pot in, to 'stretch' the bricks.  But, it adds some interest.

A lot of the plants are from other areas.  In front of the pot are transplanted red Autumn Sage.


I moved an Artimesia Powis Castle.  Looks sad now, but will perk up with some pruning.
That's a new Society Garlic in the corner.


At the other end are three new Mexican Feather Grasses.  I think there needs to be two more.
In the back corner is the Unknown Agave.


It was moved from The Rock Bed.   Elli says it'll get shredded....but, I hope not.
It'll have plenty of room here.  If it does get huge, we can make the bed larger.


In the center is the new Yucca...which may be 'Bright Edge'.


We need to add more rocks...and, maybe more plants.  I don't want it too full.
And, of course, there needs to be mulch.
But, for now, it looks pretty good.

What do you think?

Happy Gardening...
~~Linda~~