That passed over California and Mexico and gave us some much needed precipitation. A very welcome summer rain event which made the late summer garden burst out in blooms much earlier than usual.The front garden is springing into life and so are we. The hose in the picture below is the outline of a xeric style garden addition. More on that later.

Hey, I’m not complaining! And neither are the bugs. Look at this nectar loving beetle with its elegant antennae sipping on the fragrant Kidneywood blooms.

Yellow bells ‘Sunrise’ is sending out it’s lovely blooms serenading the days’ start with dew covered trumpets.

And with the bugs come happy lizards of course. Caught this little guy lurking around the rocks.

Golden Thryallis is finally blooming too. Boy did it ever have a tough time coming back from winter. I almost removed it, thinking it was dead. But I am so glad I didn’t!

And look at these dainty flowers belonging to Pigeonberry. These will turn into deep red berries and keep the birds happy for a while.

Wandering down the front lawn, I found a stream of Catmint flowing past some Mexican Feathergrass and Salvia Greggii, just about ready to bud out.

Even the Buddha is serenely surrounded by lovely blooms – as he should be. 🙂

And here are the beginnings of a new small xeric style garden.  I will be using crushed granite as mulch and only drought and heat tolerant plants will be added. I’ve been having some trouble deciding where to locate the perennials, but the good news about plants is that they can always be moved. 😉 Till later when I willl post the completed garden. We’re just glad the temps are down into the upper 80’s.

Walking the wire….