Marvelous -- I get the sense the first garden in this series is a "young" garden where the garden writer is still working on the bones, yet it will be mag one day. The 2nd one is obviously more mature and what I might imagine of a CA garden w/ a mix of "English" plants w/ the more exotic Z9 plantings.... sheesh, what an idea to put a water wheel in one's backyard! Lorepetalum Ch. is marginal here; I'd love to try it but doubt its winter ability -- farther south in VA it's no problem. These gardens are scrumptious. --cindy

Ok, didn't realize the beds were raised. As far as being below average....we don't get rain during the summer that amounts to much, in fact between June and mid August we were still at a 4" deficit. Actually that is Spokane's deficit; here we are 30 miles south and they get more than we do during summers; most storms and rain fronts split and go right around us. Our average ANNUAL precip (that's rain and snow) is 17" with the majority coming in April/May and starting again in October. I use grass clippings and straw for mulch in some beds and none in others. The most drought/heat tolerant perennials I have in non-amended gravelly sandy loam soil would be: Lavender Thyme sp. Blue Flax Salvia officinalis Ratibida Coreopsis Gaillardia Saponaria (stays in check too) Knautia Echinacea sp. Dianthus Bergenia Hosta Sedum sp. Sempervirens Helianthus maximiliani Heliopsis helianthodies perennial alyssum Hollyhock Yarrow Daylily Bearded Iris Foxglove (D. ambigua) Lemon Balm (keeps it in check too) Chives Nepeta mussinii Grasses As for annuals I'd say: Sweet Alyssum Linaria Coreopsis tinctoria Zinnia Tithonia Amaranthus Snapdragon Clarkia Moss Rose Mirablis Rudbeckia hirta Larkspur Nigella Scabiosa atropurpurea Sunflower African Daisy (Vinidium) Cosmic Orange Cosmo.

That is a lovely rose, Jane. I simply drool with envy over that and also Claire's lovely climbing roses, but I fear I am a zone too far north for roses to really do well. My neighbor has a few, but she grows them next to her house foundation (now that is a thought of a way I could grow some!) and she covers them during the winter months. I believe that most winters here (because of our altitude) reach conditions closer to zone 3, although we are supposed to be zone 4. I do have some micro-mini roses, because my Dad sends me one every year on Valentines day, and they typically last outdoors only about 2 years on average. Covering them during winter doesn't seem to increase their cold resistence or longevity. I laugh about my orange garden! All my other flower beds contain multi-colored specimens, and that garden was supposed to as well, but only orange flowers have survived there. Marigolds over-ran and choked out the red geraniums intended to share their pots, and pink and purple flowers met a similar fate. Anything orange thrived, so rather than read my orange flowers the bill of floral civil rights, I just gave up and let my bigoted orange flowers have their little gated community. I give them disapproving looks from time to time, but no longer try to integrate hapless blue, red, or purple blooms. I know what will happen. I really, really want to try growing a tithonia/Mexican sunflower, Pixielou, but I fear I am a zone too cold for them to ever flower. The plants in my orange garden would definitely embrace tithonia, but I don't think it would really fit there. I'd like a row of them along the back foundation of my house, but with sun only half the day, they'd be at an even further climactic disadvantage. Still I keep eye-ing them. Maybe I should start them early in pots. And lo and behold, as soon as I saw the photos of Indian pipe I was struck with nostalgic longing, not having seen those since I was a kid. Then what do I spy on a walk around our wooded path, but two Indian pipe fungi growing under a pine tree! I didn't have time to get the camera, but there they were! I wonder if this is a particularly favorable year for Indian pipe here in New England.

Have been pretty much a lurker for years, posted occasionally and found this site via GardenWeb. I'm finishing up my MLIS (Masters in Library Science) and work full time at a hospital as a medical librarian. Before that, I ran the transcription department in that same hospital just short of 10 years. I live in San Pedro California, a sweet little town on the coast of SoCal, not too far from Long Beach and south of L.A. School has reigned in my "fun reading" but now I can begin to relax and have at it! I love mysteries and just finished the Deborah Crombie series. I also like Peter Robinson. In fiction I just love Rumer Godden; I re-read her wonderful books periodically. Amy Tan is another wonderful author. Barbara Kingsolver (SP?) and Ken Follett too are wonderful. There are many others, but I can't think of them all! Many new and wonderful books I get from this website - someone is always reading something that interests me! My husband of 34.5 years is a retired CIO. His passion is aviation and WWII. He builds large scale model RC planes. Seriously, these things are BIG! We have two very spoiled (indoor) cats. Now that my academic endeavors are almost behind me, I plan to tackle my neglected garden, my (long) lists of TBR books I've been making - for years now - and assorted needlework projects, i.e. knitting, cross stitch, crocheting. Not necessarily in that order!