I tore out what was left of my summer garden - it was NOT a good year for it - and planted a winter garden.  This summer was just too hot - you can put all the water you want in the ground, but too many days of 115 degrees heat and the leaves just fry, tomatoes don't set, peppers don't grow....I think I lost several plants/shrubs in the yard this year as well.  We'll see what comes back this spring.  After I got the raised beds all pretty - ground broken up, fertilizer added, smoothed back out, ready to plant, I went back to take a picture.....

And my "helper" was helping again.....

Here's what I planted - peas, lettuces, and spinach.