Beautiful Avedon. I was doing the same thing since we had rain most of the day and all night yesterday and are supposed to have it again today. Love your Bernie Abercrombie...beautiful bloom! I am particularly fond of corals so I really like your Piaffe. Flying Trapeze is not blooming for me yet...another favorite. Your Imperial Lemon clump is gorgoeus. kay

Several that catch my eye, Ink and Pink for the interesting blue eyes,and Outer Limits, munchy crunchy for the teeth. Very cool & different, at least for me. I have Bordello Queen & it does great here too. As you say, nothing really different or fancy, but tall, nicely branched & heavily budded.

Paula, thanks for the kind words! I've passed on your greeting to Ottavio. This is only the area around the house I've shown photos of, and it's the oldest part of the garden and by far the most mature. Much of the garden still needs another decade or two, but this part certainly offers its satisfactions. We're getting a respectable rain, not as much probably as I was hoping for, but that might provoke erosion, so our more moderate precipitation (it looks like it's going to be) will probably make the farmers happier than heavier rainfall would. It's forecast to rain through much of tomorrow, and I hope the forecast is realized. I too love persimmons. They're as handsome a tree as a person could desire, and the color is wonderful by any standards, but especially here where we don't get much fall color. Every fall I love the fiery foliage, luminous when the sun shines through it, and then falling and making a show with the silver-and-green foliage and cool pink blooms of the cyclamen that grows underneath it. Say hi to Tom from me. I hope you both are doing well. Justin, Marlorena, Carol, kittymoonbeam, thanks.

Roi de Navare had much better color today. Tepin was planted in a spot where lots of weeds were growing, but it's looking better now. I posted a picture of Zombie Dust the other day, but it wasn't showing any pattern. Today it is. I think this one is interesting. Queen of the Garden is one I posted last season, but it never fails to delight. This is Sea of Cinders X Happy Holidays to You. It is actually a brighter red than the picture shows. I just couldn't get the camera to capture the real color. Of course, Bob was happy with this one. It is Bass Gibson X Spirit of Halloween. I like the eye on this one. It is Entering Warp Speed X Dr Jules Michael Vinkman. We just play around with patterns, and thought this one was neat. It is Time in a Bottle X Four Beasts in One. This is its maiden bloom.