the heat is on

not a lot of new projects going on in august. i'm doing good to keep up with weeding and some trimming --because with all the heat and rain almost everything that grows gets too tall and bushy about this time of year. most everything is under stress and either looks scraggly or droopy and/or it is at the end of its bloom. for all the 'man-hours' i put in every spring-- by the time august rolls around it is difficult to tell. there is just not much that looks great at this point.

i do have some big ideas for when it gets a tad cooler... and have i mentioned yet that is can't wait for the cooler weather? :-)

i decided to post a few random photos i've take over the last week or so.

this is one of the plants my neighbor gave me. i stuck it in the ground and it grew. since then i have made several cuttings from it and started new plants. i've chosen to place these at the back side of my back yard where they get tall enough to poke up and over all the shorter plants. they are nice also because of the variegated colors they produce.

pathway to the backyard from the brick patio

i've just this week made some cuttings from this tall bushy plant- i am hoping they will root easily so i can have more of these by next year. they are kind of wild and bushy so i've placed them at the base of a couple of oak trees - they have a bit of a tropical feel.

these purple flowers are called mexican petunia - it is difficult to contain as it easily invades the entire area where it's planted with new shoots that travel across and up to make new plants. i have more of them growing at the back of my property where everything is allowed to grow a little more wildly. i have used the garden gates in this bed to sort of reign it in - but it is an illusion as the new stems travel underneathe and up anyway. still-- i like it because the purple flowers close up by evening and re-open each morning.