I agree with you, Diane. I know when the neighbors' gardeners will be there and make sure all of my north facing windows are closed when they are expected. I have nearly given up washing my truck. I have to park on the street because the street is collapsing and needs re engineering. Instead, the City keeps adding more pavement to the surface so when it rains, the water overflows the curb and runs down the drive, through the garage, work room and once, into the kitchen. So, to prevent the issue, there is a HUGE mounded "speed bump" of concrete which has to be traversed at a sharp, 45 degree angle to get IN to the drive. My truck won't fit. The car does. I wash the truck, some blower jockey blows the street and my truck is trashed. It's almost just not worth it. Kim

Relax Edzard, this is southern Calfornia, dude. jxbrown, been there , done that in SoCal. You see a lot of your type of 'motif' in SoCal and there are plenty of ways to work with it that suits your personality, budget and over all outlook on the whole gardening thang. I feel the most important aspect about your newly acquired property is to not lose track that this is no longer somebody else's garden , but yours to do with as you wish. If you choose to keep this garden going as it has been tended to in the past there are plenty of people to assist you in this area. Go to one of the monthly Cal Hort meetings and bring pictures and information about your garden. There is usually about 60 or so people at the meeting ( plus or minus depending on the topic of the speaker ) and someone there can point you in the right direction in regards to someone located locally who can assist you. From the sounds of it, ( and from my experience in living in SoCal and seeing this common type 'motif ' ) it does not appear to be any monumental historical work of art that belongs under the conservationship of a Hysterical Historical Society or the Garden Conservancy. If it was, there would already be a committe set up to meet and greet you about your garden. This style of landscape was and still is very popular with the mid century so. Cal architecture. Alot of people whether they were Japanese or not planned a Japanese inspired looking garden. Thousands of these gardens exist today and thousands have undergone transformations over the years. There are a myriad of ethinically diverse gardeners in S. Cal . that can assist you in taking this garden into its next phase. To wait a full year or 'a full cycle of seasons at a minimum before changing anything!!' is a tad bit over dramatic , especially in a temperate environment such as ours , where in just a couple of months one can lose control over their garden if it is not maintained. Give Cal Hort a try, chances are high that if your garden has some sort of notoriety that someone there will be able to help you by pointing you in the direction that you want to go with it. You'll also network with a bunch of gardeners who know who's who and what their specialty is, so you'll can interview and choose someone to work with that has the correct skills if that is the direction you choose to make for your new garden.

BAD NEWS: The Giant Toad "...is probably the most widely introduced amphibian in the world. Agriculturalists released the Giant Toad (Bufo marinus) in attempts to control beetles that damage sugarcane, It readily adapts to backyard gardens and will accept food from fingertips. A milky secretion from the Giant Toad's parotoid glands is highly toxic; it will burn the eyes and may inflame the skin. A dog or cat that bites a Giant Toad will sicken and may die." The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles & Amphibians, page 393 GOOD NEWS: First of all, out of the 18 toad species that inhabit North America, only the Giant Toad is toxic to mammals. The other 17 species are completely harmless. Secondly, the range of the Giant Toad (Bufo marinus) is limited to the southern tip of Florida, extreme southern Texas, and Mexico. The two species that live in the mid-western States are the American Toad (Bufo americanus) and the Woodhouse's Toad (Bufo woodhousei), and they're beneficial to have around, particularly for gardeners. Thirdly, the Giant Toad is usually very easy to recognize due to its gigantic size. I lived in the Caribbean for two years and saw hundreds of them. I caught a granddaddy Giant Toad once and could hardly fit it into a wide mouth quart jar. You probably won't step on one without seeing it first. Hope this helps to ease your fears about toads. If you live in St. Louis, you should check with your agricultural agent, veterinarian or other knowledgeable authority to determine if Bufo marinus is inhabiting your area.

FINALLY! Rain!! And we actually got some of it! I didn't mention it yesterday because all we got here in Edmond was a bare sprinkling. The cloud cover did help with the sandblast heat, but the sprinkle was barely enough to wet my porch boards once it had set a while. But last night we got some real rain. Not sure just how much, but enough so that i can tell we actually got more than a sprinkle. It's still cloudy, so hopefully we'll get some more today. And perhaps that was enough, with the cloud cover cooling things down, for me to be able to get my 15 new daylilies,3 new Iris, 2 new lilies, seedlings sheltering in my gazebo and some cuttings I was rooting planted! It has been looking like winter sow time around here! DH will be happy to help plant the new DLs and lilies so he doesn't have to keep scooting them around on the kitchen counter in their bowl of water! Ya know, I was really amazed, and now firmly believe that DLs and Iris can grow under any conditions. A friend sent me a jam packed box of them (there's more than one fan of several)that she'd thinned from her own gardens just before we had this horrible heat snap. They arrived the day before we started the 100+ temps here and I wasn't able to plant them the next day due to other obligations. I'd tucked them into a large bowl with enough water to cover the roots because they'd gotten a little toasty on their trip. They perked up well from the soaking and with changing the water to keep it from getting icky, I've actually got brighter green on the truncated fans. And I believe there's been some little amount of growth as well. DH is off tomorrow, so we'll finally get them into their beds and tucked up :) And those poor seedlings that should have been out of their confining pots a week ago! And I finally have tomatoes to speak of growing. I took advice that someone gave about shaking their cages to help the pollen dislodge and spread as well as cooling them several times a day with a water mist from the hose. Finally they now have several fruits each and more coming if the swelling of fading blooms are any indication. It has really been a learning year for me here in Edmond. I lived in Texas until 5 years ago, and honestly I have to say that Oklahoma has the most diverse land and growing conditions across the state! I moved from Chickasha to Edmond a year ago and am amazed at the difference that 60 miles made to what to grow and how. However, school is just about out for this reasonably seasoned gardener (I've been gardening since I could toddle) and now have a notebook compiled on what I need to do differently here in Edmond. Just needs notes to be made this fall and winter (didn't have time to garden much here last year with the move and getting my kids settled in) and it will provide many reminders of things to handle differently than I have in the past. But I guess that's the amazing part about gardening, you NEVER really stop learning! But back on topic, I am thrilled to finally get some rain! I'm hoping everyone has shared in the bounty and is cooling down a little. Dawn, bless you and your fire department! I know this is the beginning of a really rough time of year for ya'll. Kathy