Midsummer Backyard Update

I bought some hollyhock seed at Walmart last year, and the young plants were covered with rust all last fall and winter.  But this summer they really took off, in spite of the rust, growing up to about 12 feet tall.  In the foreground, you can also see the sorrel in full bloom, which is giving me a nice break from eating sorrel leaves:

I've resisted the urge to water the madrone, except for a spray now and then, and it's still looking okay after its spurt of growth during the wet spring: 

The persimmon tree hasn't grown much, though.  I'm hoping it needs a year or two to get established:

Here's a picture of the hollyhocks in the evening sunlight:

I chopped down the giant cardoon that was growing next to my garage door in the middle of the mint patch.  After some bitter experiences trying to eat the cardoon stalks, I read that the finest cardoons for eating are blanched like celery--and that, in California, the season to harvest the stalks begins in October, not the height of summer.  So I'm hoping for a more successful crop if the cardoon regrows this fall.  In this picture, you can also see the wormwood going crazy at left: