August walk-about...

It was one of those afternoons where I just could not sit at my desk any longer. So I walked...

Look at this cute pumpkin sling!

A wide shot of the garden.

I'm not a huge fan of the coneflowers, but these...perfect.

I love the row of sunflowers gone to seed all lined up for the wildlife...

This garden is about a half-block from mine and I keep coming across devoured sunflower heads dropped in my garden.

I wonder if this is where they're coming from?

Their nasturtium were on fire! (in a good way)

I've never grown tomatillo, looking at these I think I might need to.

A parting garden shot...

A flower from another neighbor's garden where many of my Opuntia came from

Earlier this spring I met a nice couple who were walking past my garden. They told me where they lived and invited me to come by. I cannot believe how many weeks have passed since that day. I did however finally make it by, and really loved what I saw. A carpet of Muehlenbeckia axillaris!

And this fabulous Agave ovatifolia backed by an arctostaphylos (I'm not smart enough to know which one).

I really wanted to knock and say "hi" and get a peek of what's happening behind that attractive door, but it was also mid-day on a Tuesday and I was pretty sure if they were home they were probably working, so I did not. Another time!

Moving on I came across another fabulous wire vine (Muehlenbeckia axillaris). This plant is tenacious, but where it has the room do it's thing it is pretty spectacular.

Oh this is a good fence...

As long as you don't need complete privacy.

The pruning and shaping of this shrub was fantastic. I'm not sure I can convey it via photos, but I'm going to try. Here I'm standing on the public sidewalk looking straight at the trunk which is swept back as though it's growing seaside.

The base, where it emerges from the rock "wall"...

Looking east from the west side. So good!

Moving on. This modern home is on a very busy street. They seem to have found a balance of looking approachable but also maintaining a bit of privacy. The shiny galvanized fence next door is interesting as well. Here it's mainly metal with just a thin section of wood at the top.

This section is almost half and half (half wood half metal)...

The section with the thin wood topper features a bit of gutter as planting space.

That's not a lot of soil and I bet it can get pretty hot out here with the reflected heat from the sidewalk and street. I applaud their efforts.

A peek-a-boo cut out.

Here's a closer-up look at the sleek modern house.

I love these hebes as Acacia cognata 'Cousin Itt' hardy replacements.

Oh my! I think there must have been a bit of foliage leaning going on here. A drastic cut back seems to have happened.

Enough time has transpired that the bamboo is fluffy again, in some spots.

But others still have the freshly shorn look.

Culms for ID, if you're interested.

Crazy floating bamboo balls...

I saw the sign before I saw the tree.

But I can understand how people might be tempted to pick an apple or two, don't those look fabulous?

Finally, I'm almost back home, and I came upon this construction site. There was a small house here that sat empty and neglected for years, then it was torn down but the lot sat empty. Now there is action...