Our Southern California Drought Tolerant Garden in Full Bloom

We had a ton of work to do when we got home from overseas. When my husband ended up home sick, I took advantage of him keeping an eye on the kids indoors for a few hours to get out and weed the front garden. I am nowhere near finished but I wanted to capture the tail end of California Poppy season with our Southern California drought tolerant garden in full bloom with a ton of color in flowers and plants.

Once in a while I will introduce new poppy seeds but this year it was just blooming from last year's seeds. Although we got here at the tail end of California poppy season, it was still beautiful. We get a few of this darker variety, and sometimes a pink or cream, but mostly the bright golden orange flowers.

The Sticks of Fire (orange/yellow/red pencil cactus) grows really quickly here! Although its sap is irritating to the skin and can even cause blindness if enough if it gets in your eye, it adds a ton of color and privacy to the yard. We are very careful around these fierce and fiery flora.

I can never remember the name of this plant. It is a succulent and has the most beautiful fuchsia flowers. The plant never looks all that great and it has been much more difficult to grow clippings from but the flowers are gorgeous with this palette. 

This spiky guy is about to flower!

I never noticed that the poppies, right before they go to seed, they have the prettiest pink detail right below the seed pod.

In a few weeks, the seed pods will turn brown and then the slightest touch, by a bird, kid, or stiff wind will pop the pod of dozens of seeds sending them flying everywhere!

The olive tree is getting big and full in the background. It is a dwarf variety that shouldn't get too much bigger. It is supposed to top out at 15 feet.

After finishing weeding the garden, I want to plant a few more of the Sticks of Fire and some of the gang from cuttings and fill in along the right hand side of the property.

I need to do some chalk art or something on this water meter cover this summer...