The overcast days have continued and there have been more storms; the last rain was early on Monday. But it hasn’t been cloudy all day but the temperatures have been slightly lower than is to be expected during the first week of July.
The biggest change on the slope is that the dead sees heads of the Euphorbia have been cut back and more noticeably almost all the Eschscholzia californica have been cut back to the ground, there are a few of the smaller, newer poppies still flowers (probably from seed from the first flowers this year) but there is now bare ground for a while until they regrow. Looking at these spaces allows me to see where I will plant more Cistus, Teucrium, salvia, Sedum and possibly more rosemary. Hardly any of my earlier cuttings of the Cistus have rooted so I need to take a lot more to increase my chances of success.
The usual view
Perovskia and Gaura
Bare ground, I haven’t seen any of that for a while!
Verbascum have opened their flowers now
Oleanders, rosemary and perovskia
Looking up the slope from the gate
Tulbaglia are making their presence felt this year after being divided in autumn 2012.
Tulbaglia
So many snails even on unlikely plants like the Euphorbia
Looking from by the cuttings bed
What is the weather doing with you this week? Have you had rain? Do you think that when the changes happen they seem to happen suddenly rather than slowly?
Creating my own garden of the Hesperides 
Oh I really like your view looking up the slope from the gate–draws one’s eye upward and around and back to invite the viewer to discover each plant. The first named hurricane of the year is expected along the coast of North Carolina today. I’m hoping everyone will stay safe, but also wishing “Arthur” brings us some much needed rain.
I hope you get your rain and of course I hope everyone is safe, not something I would like to experience.
I purchased a Gaura this week having seen yours. Should have been more really, but we’ll see how this first one does, I’ve not had much luck in previous gardens. Have you ever tried cuttings?
Mine self seeds so profusely I’ve never had the need to try cuttings. They make reasonable sized plants by their second year.
You really do get year long interest on your slope, even with the heat of summer approaching it’s filled with interesting color and shape. I’ve never thought much of gaura before but like the way you have it mixed in among the other plants. I can see why the one strain is named whirling butterflies, the blooms really do look like butterflies floating above the beds.
And of course the tulbergia is perfect for this time of year, all fresh and pink…. but I would never had suspected your snail invasion
This year with all the rain there have been hundreds or it seems like thousands of snails and slugs too! Gaura is great, it doesn’t need much water and I love the airiness of the flowers. They do get very tall here and I should chop them back to make them more bushy but then I don’t like losing the flowers!
Seeing Tulbaghia looking so happy in your garden explains why they never last in mine! The Gaura and Perovskia are so pretty together, maybe I will give the gaura one more try!
Christina, the slope is looking so pretty, I love the silvers, blondes, blues, mauves, pink and white, the yellow verbascum too, they all blend nicely yet also contrast in a delicate way, none vying for centre stage but working nicely with each other, it’s a good contrast to the strong pops of colour earlier in the season, I like borders that change through the year, Frances
The slope is certainly the most satisfying part of the garden, the changes are strong but everything does seem to flow on naturally.
hello Christina, I was just looking as I couldn’t remember if I had commented here and I did, if you are reading this on it’s own check it in context on your blog, I think it’s possible the mystery comment to me about a plant needs free draining soil, could have been a missed reply to Pauline’s comment here, you haven’t replied to Pauline and that’s not like you either, maybe I’m wrong, mysteries intrigue me, 😉 Frances
Yes, I think to Pauline about Tubaglia or Perovskia. I may have used the wordpress app on the iPad to respond, I’ve never very sure if they work or not! I try to check but sometimes something odd slips through. I was also going to agree with you about blogger sites, I only comment ona couple because it is so complicated.
The silvery foliage with the pale pink Tulbaglia is a lovely combination. I like the snail photos! I found a snail at the top of a very tall allium stalk today! We have had some cooler days and showers, but now it’s much warmer and 30 degrees is forecast. We also think it’s unusual that early July isn’t as hot this year. I’m quite glad though!
Your forecast is the same as here, today the afternoon is started to feel very hot, too hot to work outside and almost too hot to harvest things!
as I keep the garden tidy, I harvest cuttings of what I love, to go with us. Hmm some plants I keep trying. Today was Chrysanthemoides monilifera. Planted by the birds, it is a shrubby daisy with berries, and grows great long branches like an octopus.
Some plants are much easier than others to propagate, Cistus may be better from seed as it is a plant that naturally has a long tap root and obviously doesn’t have that when grown from a cutting, but I’ll keep trying, if I do far more than I need, I’ll get enough.
Looking good, Chrisina! Nice soft colours, at the moment! Is your weather typical for this time of year? Good luck with your cistus cuttings. I imagine you must propagate your Perovskia by cuttings, to have so many. I must give it a go!
The Perovskia is easy from cuttings and mine seed around a bit too. The weather is NOT typical at all! But I am enjoying the slightly cooler temperatures and the garden loves the rain.
We are having higher than average temperatures and lots of rain! It’s going to be a great year for the sunflower and maize around us but worrying for the vines which are the main crop. Amelia
Yes, may not be a good wine year here either.
One thing we don’t have thank goodness is snails…I think my new favorite is your verbascum…no wait the Tulbaglia ….no maybe the Perovskia and Gaura…oh I can’t decide…love them all!
You don’t have snails?!!!!!!!!!! lucky you!
Nice!
I love your Perovskia! The whole slope looks soft and dreamy. But how big are your snails? That one looks huge. Ours are tiny things. And rain? We need rain!
We’re still having rain, unheard of in July! The snails are at most an inch in diameter, the majority are smaller than that.
I love the verbascums. I keep reading that they can be tricky to grow and don’t last long, year to year. How do you find them, which do well for you? I have some rather fine self seeded yellow ones which I shall encourage, but I’d like to use some of the interesting rusty orange ones too.
I also have some of the self Seeded ones from the countryside but I would also like to try some of the more interesting ones. The wild ones don’t suffer from the Malian moth