The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity! It has been a season of short trips, routine health checks, serious gardening, and, of course, the usual house chores and work preparations. It's all good though so I have no complaints!

As we returned home from one of our trips, we dropped by Tonbo Garden in southern Osaka Prefecture to visit the hydrangea garden. Unfortunately, many of the plants were suffering from the heat (it hit 35°C that day) and lack of water (the rainy season was short this year) and we wished we had visited sooner. Regardless, we were impressed with the park and the hydrangea garden, and have made plans to visit next year. There is a large rose garden as well but it was too rippin' hot to walk over to check it out! Maybe next time.

I think this is the year when my garden and I are finally in sync. I've been working on it for over 10 years, and the challenges have been many. First of all, we are renting, and the soil is non-existent. As a result, almost all of my plants are in containers. Since I have over 150 of them, watering is a challenge, as is keeping their roots from cooking in their pots in the extreme heat of summer. And then, of course, I was working full tilt for many years with little time to spare. Thankfully, that has changed and being able to spend time in the garden every day has made a big difference. I've been tending my plants more carefully this year, and the effort has paid off. My garden exploded with an abundance of healthy growth and fragrant blooms. (To my astonishment, even my roses are thriving!) Ah, I am so grateful for this hobby. Although my younger self would have rolled her eyes at the very idea of gardening, it has made a huge difference to my mental health and has saved me many times over.

These photos were taken in my garden over the past few days.