A little brightness please and evergreen decline

First a drought and now three or is it four days of overcast rain and drizzle-what an August. Last week I was out in the yard watering one half of the garden each day, about an hour's chore. The Douglas firs were especially hard hit as branch tips turned brown and the trees looked dry and brittle. Everything's starting to come back now but slowly. We lost only a few annuals we planted during the drought period and a Hinoki evergreen that I transplanted.

Funny about evergreens. We've lost several not noticing that they were in decline... and then they're dead. By the time we notice the color has turned, no amount of watering or shading will bring them back.

I just planted a pretty robust Austrian pine several week ago, watered it well and in two days the needles at the tips were turning brown. I kept watering it daily and hosed down the needles but it kept getting brown and even started to drop the green needles. I kept on watering and now with the cloudy weather I think we saved the tree although it looks rather forlorn with about a foot of all the new growth brown and dead. I hope it comes back.

Anyway here's splash of needed color - some pictures of pinks and one of pinks and penstemons earlier this summer. Some are volunteer which is nice as they seem die back but self seed to come up every year.