Meanwhile, Back In The Garden

The heat hasn't been extreme, but I've spent most of my time on home maintenance rather than gardening--repair or update of minor issues.  I did manage to redo the steps on the west slope in that slice of time between when the sun sinks behind the hill and utter darkness, when the heat slacks off.
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The locals approve.
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There is always a little deadheading going on, of course.
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A couple of plant acquisitions,  Fatsia 'Spider Web' (supposedly--where's all the webs?) and Selenicereus (Cryptocereus) anthonyanus.
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Garden activity will no doubt return to a furious level once the days cool off.  In the interim, there are still Fling photos to mull over.
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Comments

  1. Those were the two I was going to order as well. That slope of yours is a "painting the Golden Gate Bridge" project! The interior of the house has had zero attention all summer and we're already starting the fall projects lists. When you only go inside after dark, you just can't see what needs doing ;)

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    1. That slope will be done eventually, I swear! I am determined.

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  2. Hopefully the Spider's Web will send out leaves with more pronounced variegation next year. One of ours was almost all green at one point then sent out a batch of very 'spidery' white ones later on.

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    1. Thanks for your experience with that plant--I'm hoping for the spiders to show up. If not, maybe I can give it to Denise. ;^)

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  3. Is that Monarda in the last shot a Fling photo, or from your own garden? I tried - and failed - to grow Monarda here so, if there's a secret to growing it locally, you must share. A continuation of the cooler-than-usual August weather is forecast so I hope you're able to get back into the garden.

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    1. No, that's from Portland. I did try Monarda here, and it was growing and blooming fine and dandy for a couple of years, but we reworked that bit of the garden and it had to come out and I didn't replace it. Maybe it would have rapidly declined, and just had not done that yet. Does it need winter chill?

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    2. I can't say with any certainty what did it in in my garden. It bloomed the first season and a few returned the next season and then it was gone. I chalked it up to our warm winter, hot summer, and insufficient water. I love the flower shape.

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  4. I'm quite familiar with those retaining wall blocks. Here where there is more rain and ground freezes, we can't get away with setting steps directly into the soil like that, not for more than a year. (Trust me, I've tried)

    When I saw the first photo as a tiny thumbnail image, I thought "ooh, some sort of fancy swan-like pottery... maybe glass". Surely it can't be that blue in real life, can it? Beautiful!

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    1. That's what you get for your rain! They are fine here. Dry has some virtues. The blue was due to end-of-day-shade so that's how the photo turned out. I liked the color.

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  5. Lovely photos dear Hoover, the lizard is very cute...your steps look great, you have done really well in all of that heat.
    xoxoxo ♡

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    1. Thank you Dianne. The lizards are so very cute. The new ones are just hatching. They are about 3 cm long. Boris and Natasha found one on the driveway and started licking it and licking it. I found out what they were licking and thought they'd killed the poor little thing. I placed it carefully in the flower bed, and it ran off. It was fine, just slobbery.

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  6. First photo of the Agave is lovely for the colours, a beauty! So nice to see one of your locals on a stepping stone, but I am glad I don´t have them in the garden, we are not used to them.

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    1. The lizards eat all the bad bugs. You can get used to that very easily! :)

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  7. Industrious as ever you are! Your fatsia will get more webs as it matures, it just takes a while for the spiders to decide they like the plant before they come and spin webs on it. The foliage of your Selenicereus (Cryptocereus) anthonyanus is way cool! Happy new plants to you!

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    1. Thank you, Outlaw! I do hope to see some webby leaves.

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  8. Even we northerners are looking forward to a little cool-down. I can only imagine what it must be like for you.

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    1. It's like rain every day for three months, only dry.

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  9. As always, lovely photos. What do you have planned for that slope?

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    1. Oh, so very much planned for that slope. Wait and see!

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  10. Same here, except I have to waste most of productive time on--gasp!--work. Fortunately, the weekend is just around the corner, and I have some pots to fill.

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