Quick Yard Update

Despite the never ending heat, the yard is still thriving. Emily's sister Beth took care of the grounds while we were gone the past two weeks, and things look perhaps better than when we left. The north side of the house is in perma-shade these days, which is great for those plants, including the creeping trumpet vine, pictured below. This vine continues to spread everywhere, and has been blooming for the past two months (since the monsoons started).

Another plant on the north side of the house that's in full bloom right now is this blue darkbeard (or bluebeard, I forget it's real name).

And finally, after struggling through the summer, I ramped up my watering on this jujube, and it's come back nicely, even putting out some fruit. Hopefully as the heat backs off, these will mature nicely. I got some free coffee grounds at Starbucks a few weeks ago, and applied them to the base of this tree to help it along.