The summer weather has broken with moderate temperatures during the day. Overnight temperature of 54 degrees cools the house down, as low as 48 degrees later this week. The air conditioning did not kick on at midday.
Lower temperatures have brought plants back to life. The liriope is showing light blue brush blooms. The maida elegans came back for a brilliant second bloom after pruning. That section of the Back Border Garden appears to borrow ample water from the lawn sprinklers.
I repaired a severed irrigation artery in the Triangle Garden and replaced the bubbler on the columbine with a compression dripper, two gallons per hour. The raphiolepis has responded to increased water and fertilizer with new growth.
I stopped at the Circle Garden on my way in this afternoon. I opened the bubblers to increase water flow to the germander and the cistus at the end of the line. The screen filter on the irrigation timer silts up quickly and chokes off the water flow. Nevertheless, the purple lantana and other plants are thriving.
The indoor cactuses can survive on little water but not without water. I cleared a few dead branches and will add water in small amounts over the next few days. The new indoor plants – fern, purple heart and zamioculas zamilifolia (zz) – all seem to be settling in well.
A Year at the Snake 