This month I added life (finally) to every pocket of our living wall. The dogs knock out some of the lower plants once in a while, so I try to put the heartier ones down there.

I’ve sacrificed the potted rose bush as my luck with roses at this house has been erratic. The gardeners who constantly trimmed the front rose bushes at the Hayward house had them blooming many times a year, including the dead of “winter.” So in the potted wall at the end of our deck, the small rose bush is abandoned and that pot is eagerly and efficiently being overtaken by a succulent. I’d be happy if 90% of our garden became succulents as they are so easy to grow and so pretty to me. Indeed, I’m on a Nextdoor.com group called, “Wait a Succulent” with other lovers of the African rose and whatever else these other types are called. I’m easy to buy gifts for because succulents are a no-brainer.

We’re hoping our adolescent lemon tree will survive with intense watering, as well as the palm tree we planted in the front. All our other trees seem to be thriving, even though our plumb tree needs pruning. The garden is constantly undergoing changes with dogs running into things, but we reinforce the garden and most plants survive the inadvertent brutality. We added two bona fide compost bins which are helping with the plants which will help with the potting material and the added benefit is that it helps reverse carbon emissions.

Our bamboo is starting to leave its previously allotted area, so we’re not sure how we feel about that. We sort of wished for the extra privacy, but it might be a case of “careful what you wish for” if we cannot keep it contained.

You’ll see the damage the atmospheric river did to our neighbor’s backyard. We can now see into the neighbor up the hill’s backyard!