Summer Garden - PaolaPrints

Summer time is outdoor time. Of course, if you’re lucky, it can also be a direct path to beach abandon when people return to water to become whole again. Then, there’s the garden. I try not to make garden maintenance a chore. Last year, we were away during spring into summer. I missed a whole lot of “mandatory” garden time. This year, with the rains, it’s been over the top. Weeding should be a mindless task -which for me, usually has a calming effect. Unless there’s too much to do and then it’s a miserable panic. These are the proud parent plants of the Paola Pillow on the couch -called Raspberry.

It’s good to know my tolerance is growing. And isn’t it better to pull a foot- high weed after a torrential downpour, than cultivating out tough little weeds in hard, dry soil? I recently read of a very posh heiress who repaired to New England during the summer growing season and preferred to let the perennials travel with abandon through her formal gardens. ( hmm).

My main goal is keep the azaleas clear at their feet so their shallow roots don’t have to fight for good soil, and a generous breadth around all blooming plants so they look their best. The rest have to fend for themselves until they really need help.

So, I continued questioning my niece expert…why are butterflies important? “Butterflies obviously have integrity as organisms and should be respected as fellow creatures. BUT, they do not have the economic tie- in that bees do. They’re important pollinators, but not of crop plants. They enrich your life. It’s like asking what flowers do for you. Butterflies are the flowers of the air.” YESSSS!!! Flowers of the air. My new friends.