There's still a long way to go, but the garden beds are starting to fill in very nicely. It has been hot and dry lately, so that hasn't hastened the process along noticeably, but this morning we have had copious rainfall, and that will spur growing things to make an especial effort.

As usual, our eyes are dazzled by the depth of colour after a rainfall. On the perhaps negative side, the rain was so heavy it 'cleansed' all the blossoms that were left on the ornamental crab trees, and the honeysuckle, nodding in the wind with the weight of its blossoms have been forced to make obeisance to the combination of wind and rain, bowing down low, scattering their white foliage on the ground below.

Still, rain will help the rose buds to bloom and they're in plentiful array. The same for the peonies. Although the pink blossoms of the tree peony at the front of the house have bloomed gorgeously, the yellow one at the back of the house has not yet, while the other peonies are rife with buds that will soon burst into full bloom.

Mountain bluet is blooming, along with the bearded and the Siberian irises, so there's plenty of colour. Our red coral bells have turned a bright crimson, thanks to the rainfall.

We're enraptured looking at the gardens, their texture, architecture, colour capture our eyes and hold them fixed. This is the reward for devoting time and energy to nurturing growing things. Not all that much time or energy, mind, since it's done on a constant basis, and well worth the effort.

After the rain -- or perhaps I should say between rains, since Environment Canada has issued a fresh extreme thunderstorm alert -- I went out to the backyard with the intention of cutting back some of the rose canes and other shrubs that haven't developed, and discovered that it wasn't a very good idea. I've never seen mosquitoes quite as ferocious as those that attacked me, so I'll give that notion a clear berth until things dry up sufficiently to venture that prospect again.