When I first met Val, she already had an established garden with some very nice plants. She wanted to get rid of all her Red Lava Rock and she did the digging and worked on it piecemeal, but I kept offering to help get the rock out. She kept turning me down, until finally one day she said, "Yes." We became great friends and basically took over her garden work.
Here are some pics and these are with my camera so bear with.
Our sweet neighbors have filled their tub with well water a bunch of times during this drought. They are the best people you could know. I'm so thankful for them, and their kindness.
We did get a spot of rain on Tuesday, but it was not what the weather guy was predicting. I am really looking forward to the rainy season this year. I have learned patience, perseverance, and humility during this drought. Today I spot watered deeply the tomatoes, all the Red Salvia on the Bank, (it was so dry & may not make it), and some of the newly planted Podocarpus. I scooped up 4 pieces of Stokes Aster and put them in potting mix in containers. They were not looking good, but the roots still looked white and alive. So glad I rescued those.
I watered the Raised Bed. The Basil has a new flush of growth, the big Cosmo is getting ready to bloom, and the other plants in there are going to make it. My Iron Crosses did not make it this year. I should have left them in the ground last fall. I am sad to lose them. The Ginger Lilies are growing bonkers. The irrigation is making things grow, (especially the grass) and soon I'll have to mow.
This evening, I will go to Val's garden and do some watering of areas that their sprinklers do not hit. Roxxie & I stopped by on our morning walk so I could assess the situation. Yep, dry as a bone, but the main attractions are still alive.
Peace & Plenty.
OMG! Please send rain. Yes, we do have 2 Rain Barrels full, but it goes fast, and it is so hot and dry here. As I stated before, the irrigation system is primarily to keep the grass/lawn alive, so we won't have to buy sod or seed. Woe is me I'm really starting to fret. If my plants survive it will be a miracle. It's these drought periods that make me just want to give up sometimes.
Barb gave me another Hamelia Patens today. I now have 6. Hope it lives.
I had to rescue Tithonia seedlings from the Bank. It is too dry over there and they would have died today. The only sprinkler that hits that area is mostly going into the neighbor's yard and I'll have to get someone to fix it or replace the head.
I also redid a container today. It had Morning Glory tiny seedlings and 2 big pieces of English Ivy. The Ivy had gotten scorched by the intense sun, and I moved it to the Bank and will try to keep it going, but if we don't get rain soon, I just don't know if it will come through. I do have lots of Ivy in the trough around the patio. Those little Morning Glories are iffy also, but I had to get them out of the container and plant them at the base of the trellis beside the patio.
Peace & Plenty.
First thing I did at daylight was to take all the compost out of the Compost Bin and put it on one of the tomato gardens. It was almost broken down. Good stuff.
I then had to start moving things around in order to give the sprinkler heads room to spray out onto the lawn. I will have 2 big containers of flowers to transplant into gardens as soon as we start getting rain again. Right now, it's 92 every day for a week or so and they just get so droopy and some die.
I watered some things today because the irrigation does not go off until Saturday. I am happy to have it up and running.
Peace & Plenty. 
Man, you can go out early in the morning and sweat like a horse, or you can wait until the sun comes out and burn up. Roxxie & I have been walking later in the day and she prefers that time.
Well, we got the irrigation reconnected yesterday and he put the works in the ground. He said it won't freeze ever again. I hope that is correct. It cost $350 which is not bad, plus we got 4 buckets of sand out of it, and I put that on the bare spots in the front yard where I have the grass plugs.
All the irrigation heads work except for one. There is no water coming out at all. Ray is going to see if her DH can come and redirect the heads so the water will go where it is most needed. One of them is shooting the water into the neighbors' yard. I will be out there at sunset to finish cleaning around all the heads and then I will pick some ripe tomatoes.
I have been ultra busy in the garden. Just today I transplanted a whole pot of Crackerjack Marigold's to my garden, Sandy's garden, and some to Ray's garden. I just love those flowers because they last all year if you don't have a freeze. Beautiful too!
I have seedlings up in one of the trough's and I do not know what kind of flowers they are and I don't remember planting anything there. 
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Peace & Plenty.
