Extra (Mostly) Bloom Day To Celebrate Irrigation Completion.

October usually produces some of the prettiest roses of the year.  'Souvenir de la Malmaison' above, had an exceptional October.
A trio of  ever-blooming 'Belindas Dream'

'Julia Child'

'Trumpeter'

'Bill Warriner' in front, 'Trumpeter' in the background.

I nearly dumped 'Matilda' this spring as it was miserable in its old location.  It's happy now in a spot that gets regular irrigation.

'Barcelona'

The last 'Elizabeth Salter' day lily of the year:

This unknown doesn't often bloom in autumn.

This one never blooms in autumn.  Perhaps the extreme heat of mid-August through mid-October did it.

The winter's Sweet Peas are emerging.  The days are mild now, but the soil is still warm.

This beautiful pumpkin is so late--I wonder if it will be able to ripen.

A happy Impatiens growing from the bottom of the Koi pond shower.  No soil, constantly moist crack between the bottom of the shower container and the concrete coping of the pond.  (See where the shower and coping meet there on the left.)  The Impatiens is growing in that crack. 

The first Nasturtium flowers of the fall.  Nasturtiums inevitably become huge and try to take over, so I usually pull them early.  A few always manage to reseed.  
 
The Lotus jacobaeus.  I've enjoyed this odd and dainty little plant, with its black/brown/burgundy flowers.  

Nice near the beautiful 'Barcelona'.

This is the lavender plant we were given at the Portland Fling in July.  It has settled in.  Flowers next spring, perhaps. 

Out front, a Nemesia volunteered this spring.  I haven't grown any Nemesia for at least five years.  This seed came from somewhere. 

One of the milkweed plants is stripped.

There's one of the strippers.  We've had just a few resident Monarch caterpillars this summer.  I'm seeing many more now that the weather has cooled.  

This plant, Alstroemeria 'Rock and Roll', so godawful tacky looking at the garden center I was embarrassed to buy it, has proven to be the surprise plant of the year.  It turned out to be superb.  The rats ate all the slugs and snails;  the lizards ate all the earwigs, the foliage is pristine.  How about that?  You just never know--no wonder we hope and experiment.  Sometimes this happens: 

That was yesterday's walk around the garden, so neglected for the past nearly two months because of the heat.  I'm celebrating because the irrigation is finally done on the west slope, and I can now plant the darn thing. 
Thar be drip on that yon hill, matey.