Over the years my garden has evolved to be very low maintenance over the summer months because I'm so often away sailing.

In early June I was home to see the  stunning combo of dianthus and thyme. In the backyard, clematis was in bloom. 

The prickly pear flowered while I was gone, but Alex sent me a photo.Thankfully, he was coming by to water while I was away, or the damage could have been much worse. I did lose some herbs (corsican mint, red pansy), foam flower seedling, golden alexander seedling, bonsai juniper. Hostas and rogersia suffered some heat damage. Overall, things were looking pretty good when I came back, with orange lilies blooming, butterfly milkweed flowering, and clematis putting on a good show. 

I returned after three weeks on the lake to attend birthday celebrations for Nora and had a chance to catch up on the weeding, pruning, and watering.

We were home for several days and I ended up hanging out in the garden for hours every day, soaking up the green. And making some notes on some potential transplants for the fall. 

Photos below were taken the week of July 21. I absolutely love the micro clover patch of lawn, it is so green while the lawn in front has turned a dormant brown. Thinking I may overseed the front lawn with more clover at the beginning of next season. I love the results so much!