I am reconnecting with my garden and realizing just how much being out there centers me...I can almost feel my heart rate and breath slow down when I feel in touch with everything out there. Luckily, I spent a few hours this weekend checking on things, watering, deadheading, and a bit of privet pruning that stayed safe, as opposed to this experience because today it hit 104 degrees and we have a few more days of similar weather is store. Not the best for yard work! I was happy to find a few surprises after being gone most of two weeks. The Italian White sunflowers have finally been kind enough to bloom...I've grown them in the past and enjoy them a lot. I found three praying mantises (manti?) which I just love...
I swear they watch closely when you take their picture and they aren't very happy about it. The flock of bushtits that had visited before I left on vacation came by again leading me to assume they are hanging around nearby. The mantises and bushtits might give you a clue about the number of insects available to visitors. I have an impressive number of aphids, especially on the wisteria. The downside of getting wisteria to bloom late into the summer is that the blooms get coated with aphids and the choice is leave them be or hose them off...which of course will strip the flowers off, too. So I just give them a light trim to keep them up out of the walkway and enjoy the blooms from afar.The garlic chives have begun to bloom and go well with the hollyhock that is probably reaching the end of it's bloom.
The salvia Blue Hill is still adding some nice color and the dwarf carnation Evermore seems to be living up to its name well this year. 
The zinnias are a bit of a surprise, too. I tried, really I did, to get six packs with the fewest possible orange flowers...the results show I was not too successful! I suppose I should try starting my own from seeds next year. I didn't plan to plant these, so hadn't gotten any seeds. But they were one of those impulse buys that happen to the best of us and I am happy enough with them...and they make great "picking flowers" for the kids.
