walking the garden this week~

its been a very busy week in the garden, i try to snap pics here and there when out and about, but sometimes it is weeks before i can find time to empty the camera and another week or two before i can even sort through them. things get frantic in October, we only have water for irrigation from april 15th through October 15th, and this has been one helluva of summer, hottest on record for 3 months consecutively, largest fires in the states history, and now here we sit with zero water... 

fire season is still very much a threat, in fact we lose our power for several days starting tomorrow with high winds too great a threat for sparking additional catastrophic fires from downed power lines. just imagine a garden in the height of fire season with nary a drop of water, hence the below pic, i need to utilize any water source on hand! 

the frogs are abundant in my courtyard, enjoying the water themselves...

i tried my hand at a succulent pumpkin...

and decided to plan ahead for the holidays, although i fear for next year!

without any water the dahlias are no longer upright, they stood 6' tall, the flowers are still profuse and abundant, but they bend over like a giraffe grazing... they still grab my attention every time i pass.

the tropical plants still look lush

i always love fall for the berries and seed pods, i just wish the weather would finally change and bring us cold rainy days to spur on fall foliage... and end the worst fire season in history!

the reblooming iris are making themselves known

even i was surprised to see the oleander still blooming.