Pretty pink ~

I  love pink flowers, but normally this time of the year they very limited in my garden,  the more saturated and brighter colored flowers seem to deal better with the heat. This summer has been an exception with this lovely combination of Gomphrena "Fireworks" and Purple Coneflowers in one of the back borders.

I have planted Gomphrenas for several years now but last year was the first time I planted Coneflowers, they are considered perennials but in my climate zone I really didn't expect them to come back, so it was a nice surprise when they did. When I saw they were thriving I of course added more, hopefully next year they will increase and look even prettier.

I love the way that the little puffs of gomphrenas rise airily above the larger coneflowers, really complimenting each other. 

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And now for a complete switch in topic. I have been looking for the perfect blush color for a long time and I finally have found it,  NARS powder blush Exibit A. It is so intense that is frankly scary at first glance and I never would have tried it if I hadn't read about it. (The sales clerk at Nordstom's couldn't believe I was buying it). The trick of using it is to pick up the smallest particles with a fan blush. Done this way it gives the most wonderful, natural, pink glow. I use so little that I fully expect this to last me forever.

I still haven't found a signature fragrance but now I do have the perfect blush.
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Thank you for visiting I hope you have a colorful day filled with lots of pretty blooms.

Adrienne

Grass be gone! ~

I love the look of an expansive green lawn and grass is relatively easy to maintain, but it takes a lot of water to really look nice. So late last spring I decided to take out the remaining rather patchy grass in the rear garden and replace it with planting areas and mulch.

I planted a flowering pear  (Ovrus calleryana) tree and a Western redbud (Cercis occidentalis) tree here a couple of years ago to add more shade to a very hot and sunny garden. At the time I ws thinking that if I ever took out the grass I would enlarge the basins under the trees for planting and as you can see that is what I did. I installed drip irigation for watering ease and water conservation.

You can see how it turned out in the before and after pictures below.

Before

After

Before

After

This is definitely a work in progress, I will be adding more plants, including white trailing lantana and perhaps a brick or gravel pad...maybe even a small meadow of native grasses for the bench to sit on. There is always something creative to do in a garden!

Thank you for visiting have a happy day. 

Summer heat ~

This has been a very discouraging summer in Southern California for a gardener. The heat has been constant and relentless. Over one weekend the temperatures reached 120 degrees, literally burning the leaves on plants, even established trees and shrubs succumbed. Watering can only do so much when the rays of the sun are so intense.

But instead of showing you my poor burnt plants I am going to share one that doesn't seem to be affected and looks as good this year as any - Crepe Myrtle.

These lovely trees seem to ignore the extreme heat; they have no burnt foliage and are in full bloom.

I have two Pink Pagoda Crepe Myrtle trees, one in the front garden, above and one in the back garden bordering the pond. 

When everything else is looking so exhausted and damaged at least this is one spot of beauty that I can look upon.

Crepe Myrtles come in various varieties, including shrubby types I have been testing one in my garden called, Early Bird White, it has performed well and I plan on planting more of them this fall to replace less heat tolerant shrubs.

Gardens, like life, are always changing. There is no denial that our weather is getting much hotter. This means that I as a gardener must adapt. I am compiling a list of plants that can withstand the higher temperatures and intense sun with the intention to make changes that will allow my garden to still look lush and thrive.

Wish me luck!

And, thank you for visiting