We're in the middle of a nasty heat wave, with high winds and temperatures soaring into the mid-90sF (35C). To make matters worse, the seemingly inevitable wildfires that accompany heat, wind and drought here popped up in areas to the east of Los Angeles, polluting the air, turning the sky a dingy brown, and forcing the temporary evacuation of over a thousand homes. I sincerely hope current conditions aren't a portent of what we can expect this summer.
The wind, heat and low humidity are already taking a toll on the most fragile plants in my garden, although it still looks pretty good in the wide shots I've included here. My backyard borders have filled in some since last month's post.
![]() |
| Backyard photographed from the back door |
![]() |
| Backyard borders photographed from the left side |
![]() |
| Backyard borders photographed from the dirt path that starts in the southeast side yard |
After repeated problems with raccoons digging things up in the southeast side garden, I pulled out some of their favorite targets. There's been a drop in raccoon activity since then but whether that has to do with my new plant selections, the raccoons' foraging schedule, or pure luck, I don't know.
![]() |
| Southeast side yard photographed from the front lawn through the arbor |
![]() |
| Side yard photographed from the side yard patio |
![]() |
| Side yard photographed from the backyard grass path |
Floral color is more prominent in the front yard borders than it has been for the last several months. The
'Pink Meidiland' shrub roses,
Hemerocallis 'Spanish Harlem', and
Gaura lindheimeri 'Snow Fountain' are in bloom, along with various
Pelargonium and
Cuphea x ignea 'Starfire Pink.' However, the lawn on the right side as you face the house (virtually invisible in the photo below) is in terrible condition, probably due to a combination of sparse rainfall and the greedy roots of the
Magnolia grandiflora occupying that area.
![]() |
| Front borders photographed from the driveway |
While sweet peas still dominate one of the 3 raised planters in the vegetable garden, I've now got seeds of
'Glass Gem' corn sprouting in the middle planter and the thornless raspberry bush I thought I killed last year has reappeared. I've also got sunflower seeds sprouting amid strawberry plants in the third planter and the Mandarin orange tree in the corner still has plenty of ripe fruit.
![]() |
| Vegetable garden photographed from the gate leading to the dry garden |
I've had some raccoon activity in the dry garden as well. I put a tomato cage over a recently planted
Agave vilmoriniana in an effort to keep them from tearing it out of the ground again. So far, that's worked. The first bearded Iris in this area is in flower and the daylilies have made sporadic appearances, although none were bothering to show their faces when I took the pictures below.
![]() |
| Dry garden on the northwest side of the house, photographed from the start of the path leading to the stairway down the slope |
![]() |
| Dry garden photographed from the backyard |
We did quite a bit of work on the slope last month, although it may not be readily apparent. My husband went a little crazy cutting back the huge
Yucca elephantipes that marks the boundary between us and one of our neighbors. The
Yucca still creates a sprawling fence along the property line but we managed to clear some space around a peach tree it had engulfed and increased the light and air flowing through the
Yucca. The
Yucca appears to root wherever a branch touches soil. There are a lot of plants buried under the ivy spreading from the neighbor's property, which I'm slowly cutting back.
![]() |
| Slope photographed from near the top of the concrete block stairway |
![]() |
| A closer look at the "thinned" Yucca elephantipes - you may be able to make out the pink flowers of the slender peach tree we discovered just in front of the Yucca |
That's it for this month's wide shots.
Please visit Heather at Xericstyle, the sponsor of this meme, to see her wide shot this month and to find links to shots presented by other gardeners.
