Hello everyone; yes, once again it is I, Chess the purebred border collie, filling in for the guy I live with, and here to bring you the latest, most-up-to-date news from our garden. You may remember me from such up-to-date posts as “The Expired Chicken” and “Grapevine Down”, among so many, many others.
Here I am in a characteristic pose. This is my summertime pose, now, I guess.
I’ve been sick, but feeling much better today, thank you; of course I have a live-in nurse, and antibiotics to take. The guy I live with says I “got into something” on my walk, which I do almost every year, so we’re kind of used to this, but still, it was such a beautiful day yesterday that I was sad, because I didn’t feel so well.
Today wasn’t so beautiful, though it started out like it would be, and then the clouds rolled in, and it got all dark and thundering, like it has so many times this summer, and I had to retreat to my fort, as you see me here. It got nicer, later.
For all the darkness and thunder we’ve had this month (not to say anything of July, June, or May), we’ve had less than a half an inch of rain so far, so the guy I live with says if it isn’t going to rain, it should be sunny. I think I agree.
The guy I live with has been obsessing on cyclamen, a little, because he tends to obsess on little things when going out into the garden isn’t much fun. Cyclamen hederifolium again. 
Cyclamen fatrense again (or C. purpurascens, if you insist). The one on the bottom sowed itself. Or I should say ants sowed it. 
Another seedling, maybe of Cyclamen cilicium. Heuchera leaves on the right. 
The four o’clock, Mirabilis multiflora, is looking pretty good. Climbing into Yucca baccata. 
The cowpen daisy, Verbesina encelioides. The guy I live with is extremely happy that these decided to live in the front yard. 
And, for years, the guy I live with has had issues with finding a true perennial datura (Datura wrightii; not the others), but seedlings have never lived long. He doesn’t know why.
The other day he noticed a datura in the front yard, and it’s decided to bloom. It’s probably not wrightii, but who cares? (I don’t, anyway.) It really is a little purpley on the end there. 
Oh, okay, I need to show you this. I think this is really dumb, but the guy I live with insisted I show you how to make your own portable drip irrigation device. You get an empty plastic jug, and put a hole in it, with a nail (pin is too small; the plastic will heat in the sun and seal the hole), on the bottom, in the area indicated with the blue dot.
Then, putting your finger over the hole (the guy I live with said to say this, because when he first invented this, well, guess what happened), you fill up the jug, and carry it out to the plant you want to drip water on.
I admit, this is probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever posted about. (He says I haven’t seen anything yet.)
Well, that’s all the news for today. I imagine I’ll be posting more cyclamen pictures, and hopefully the twenty or so species of autumn-blooming crocus will start to appear, and there are asters and other things to come. I can hardly wait, because it means cooler weather, and maybe an end to the thunder, eventually.
Until next time, then.
the miserable gardener 