These are my backup plan, in case gophers eat everything on the hill.

Here's the wall on the hill; the beds on either side will be 2 feet wide and 8 feet long.

I planted tomatoes, basil, and peppers in a half wine barrel on the patio. I also made progress on the hill bed: I drilled holes in 4x4s, then pounded rebar through the holes and about a foot into the ground.

Most of the irises on the hill aren't open yet, but the yellow ones near the master bedroom window are.

There are pink flowers growing everywhere in the gravel area.

The wisteria is starting to get lots of flowers.

The hill across the street (in the background) already looks brown.

The aloes and cala lilies are still blooming; just a few of the irises are open.

There are actually several bunches of gazania, but the others are still hidden by the narcissus foliage.

The roses have lots of flowers right now.