In The Garden: July 25

  Though it's been off and on foggy days, the garden is hanging in there and looking quite fine for July.

  Over the years, I've gotten rid of most of the roses I had planted when we first bought our home. Back then it rained more, and the use of water wasn't as much of an issue as it has become now. I tried to keep those roses going, but it was a losing battle against bugs and disease. Roses are either really hardy, or not. At least in my garden.

 At one point I was proud to say I'd planted 70 roses in my garden. Wow. Most were antique or English, many thrived for years, then went into slow decline. I hated taking them out, but it was a must.

  I have a handful now, and they seem to be the hardiest of hardy...

'Sombreuil' never fails to knock me out...
She's fragrant, too!

David Austin's 'Tamora' is a beauty...

'Cornelia' never stops blooming, as long as I am good about feeding her.

 Now I have loads of succulents. They give me so much pleasure, and fulfill my need for texture and color, without a ton of water...LOVE!

In the morning light. Magic!

Getting ready to explode into orange blooms...

 A few garden moments from this morning. I make sure that I have enough time to walk around the garden every morning before heading out to work.

  What a wonderful way to start the day.

One of my many Japanese Maples. This one has a
friend taking over...geranium 'Maderense'.
The massive leaves are so similar!

The bees are loving the blooms of the
Drumstick Alliums.

The seedpods of 'Dianella' are always fun to see.
A very tough plant, too.

One of several St. Francis statues we have collected.

An 'oldie' but a goody! The hummingbirds love it.

  

  We have many admirers of our garden, but I think our friend and garden assistant, Pedro, is the one who loves our garden as we do. Last week he left us this little scene, in honor of our new paint job on the house...

Thanks, Pedro. You are the best!