It has been quite hot here in our droughty, un-air-conditioned world, and as a consequence I haven't been out much working in the garden. I fool around a bit, especially in the area around the house, where there's a good deal of shade, and where all the construction has called for much tidying anyway. The foundation work is finished, the front terrace has been re-laid, mainly by DH; the front bed reconstructed, by me. We still have no solution for the pergola, as the project proposed by the builder seemed excessively expensive. I'm hoping to get DD to exercise her engineering skills when she's here on vacation in August, come up with a plan and order materials, though others can put it together.

Today it was actually cloudy and moderately fresh, and I put in some time on the escarpment. This is the steep, short drop, about 10'/3m at its highest point, between the front yard and the tractor road below. I've posted photos of it in the past. We planted it early on, terracing the weedy, rubbly drop with rebar and boards and planting odds and ends: roses, pittosporum, a ceanothus, and smaller things. The terracing has mostly held and the plants have mostly thrived. Seedling trees have arrived, oaks and flowering ash: these are good, to hold the ground and supply shade and organic debris. We may have too much shade here one day, but it's going to be a while.

I tidied. I pulled or cut weeds, most of them benign but messy; same for the dead annual grass; I cut dead and old growth out of the roses, looking them over as I worked, chopped it up and put it back. One part of the lowest terrace had rotted away; DH brought rebar and wood and restored it. The ceanothus is flourishing and invading its neighbors and the tractor road: I hate to cut it back but it may be necessary. It has what look like ripe fruits on it, which suggest scattering in areas where I'd like more ceanothus. (No, it probably won't work, but what does it cost me to try?) The only plant on the terrace that can overwhelm the ceanothus is 'Sanguinea', growing above, which lounges onto the ceanothus and actually succeeds in shading it out. I am going to have to cut back the creeping cotoneaster on the bottom terrace to keep it out of the road, and probably also cut back slightly the sarcococca which is invading 'Alfred de Dalmas'/'Mousseline'--I'm not sure which it is--which is well established and growing healthily. There are invasive Yellow Emperor and variegated periwinkle to discourage. The terracing at the east end is in poor shape, but it's rocky there and I don't particularly want to tackle ground where I can't drive in stakes. I think 'Félicité-Perpetue' may have layered there.

Where I've worked it does look more orderly and more agreeable, which makes it all worthwhile.