Let me begin by saying…

My bottlebrush tree is doing much better since the day I “found” it.In March, I trimmed the bush/tree next to it as far back as I could, so the bottlebrush would have more room to grow.However, we do need a bit of “truth in blogging” before we get too far…I noticed I had ended “Part 4” with this picture, promising to get back to you on where they got planted… Ok, let’s just get it over with: the miniature bottle brush died (lack of water) before I got around to planting it. Sharon, artist and author of the blog “Make Art…Magic Happens” recently did a really cute post called “Look to the Garden”. In it she shows a fabric illustration she made with the saying “A garden is a friend you can visit anytime.” I had to smile, thinking that while I may view my garden as a friend, it may not have the same opinion about me! (However the succulent did survive, and even had “babies”, if that makes anyone feel better.)

I planted it by my rock path because I had another one that was doing well nearby. If you look closely you can see the little “babies” around the edge of it. Love this closeup!Must be snapdragon season!Taken before I planted the snapdragons you saw in the photo above, this still doesn’t look a lot different from how it did after snapdragon season ended. (I think snapdragon season in my backyard ends a lot sooner than it does everywhere else in town, but anyway.) You’ll notice the only thing doing well is the succulent I had gotten as a cutting from my friend Karen’s garden awhile back. So I got an idea…If succulents are the only plants that can survive in this spot, then succulents it will be!After all, if these……could become these… …then why not?A rare photo of the patio all cleaned up.Usually it looks more like this…Since the last garden update I have been able to get some good pictures for you.

Just please don’t ask what became of the alyssums and the bright red flower at the bottom center. You don’t want to know, but it has to do with lack of water. That’s all I’m saying.I’m always interested in other people’s gardens and I especially like seeing the ones from different places with different climates. Rosina, who writes the blog “Zeens and Roger” in the UK, did a post on her garden called “Garden in May.” I love all the greenery and flowers they get over there. I also love seeing pictures of Susanne’s garden from “Cats and Trails and Garden Tales” in the Pacific Northwest, especially when her “Happy Garden Cats”, Tiger and Benji, are in them!

So, until next time…

I’ll leave you with another “hidden cat” picture. Happy gardening!