What's in my garden?

With such incredible heat this weekend, it's natural to wonder - what's happening in the garden?

Here in Topanga, our jacaranda is finally starting to bloom. It always lags behind West L.A. jacarandas - the trees in the UCLA sculpture garden are in the full flush of bloom long before our trees buds begin to swell. But now it's starting, and oh, is it glorious!

Most of the roses that bloomed earlier have finished that first flush, and the sun has forced buds to open fast. This morning, however, my Austin rose "Jude the Obscure" (I love how Austin names his roses!) is at the peak of perfection - I know it will be blasted into dry petals by evening if this heat keeps up.


The plum tree is heavy with green fruit - it's only a matter of time before this heat will thin it. Soon the stones of the patio will be littered with fallen green plums, the size and color of olives, shed by the tree because it just can't support them all. I wonder if more fruit is shed because of the heat, or whether it's just a matter of quantity?

I love how even when green, plums have that misty, frosty bloom on their skins.