The gardens, front and back of the house, are holding their own very nicely this summer. The Japanese beetle infestation is nowhere near as awful as it has been the last few years. Most of the damage has taken place on the lawn, this time sparing most of the vegetation, though the roses have taken ample hits. After their June bloom, fortunately.

The garden, like everything else, has its ups and downs. At the moment it's thriving, doing very nicely.And certainly not causing the gardener any extra strain. Not too much to be done at the present time. Oh weeding, yes that of course, but not an awful lot of that, either. Keeping abreast of weeds means they've a more difficult time establishing themselves in serious numbers to make their extirpation at any one time a miserable chore.

Once a week devoted to serious cutting back, putting a little order in place, neatening up things is more than enough, the results pleasing and the pay-back fairly immediate in a tidy, well-mannered garden. Once things have bloomed and had their time in the sun being the star of the garden, they can be trimmed and then courteously make room for the succession to continue.

I had fertilized the garden pots a few weeks back, but back then we'd just realized we were in drought. Since then we've had ample rain and the garden has balanced out its needs of ample sun and rain to keep it happy and producing. When that happens, needless to say, we're happy they're producing lots of variety, colour, texture; lovely little landscapes for our personal pleasure.

The well tended garden is a faithful servant to our intrinsic need to be surrounded by aesthetically beautiful landscapes. There aren't many occasions when we grumble that our efforts haven't produced the results we anticipate. And those efforts are well rewarded, something we are always grateful for.

The satisfaction derived from observing the garden and all its beautiful surprises represents a wonderful bonus in the quality of our lives. The tranquil serenity that overwhelms us as we sit in the garden, our eyes welcoming the grace of nature, worth every effort we put into helping nature's natural designs to reflect our personal tastes.