High Summer, Low Precipitation

I've been watering for three weeks for neighbors who are traveling. I have persisted through heat and humidity--and very little rain!  Well, yesterday we had 20 minutes of a downpour that perked up the plants a bit, but mostly ran off the hard-packed earth as demonstrated by the grass on this hillside.  I've been watering the border and it also gets shade in the late afternoon and is, therefore, still green.

Larry put a TreeGator, a slow release watering system, on the Japanese Maple on the cliff.

We'll see how it improves with some TLC.

Larry was out this morning trimming the fence line.  A hot job!

The helianthus love it--and so do bees!

The Campanula or Bell Flowers are out, white and blue.

Bug alert on the day lilies.  I still don't know what they are. I just pick them off.

The Rudbeckia is starting to show up in the Bellis perrenis Daisy clump.

and more bees!

Even though it's dry, the garden is alive 

with sights and sounds and scents.