Uncovering the columnar elements, part 2

This is actually the "after" picture, believe it or not. Clearly I still have some work to do on this side of the little tree! (Can you see it, just behind the peony?) I started on the other side, towards the gate, and took the opportunity to liberate a hosta and a hellebore at the same time. Lots of excess cranesbill geranium, Japanese anemone, and mint. I now know these characters well enough to know that they won't be devastated by my attack. Rip, tear. The hellebore still needs some help, but the hosta now looks like a deliberate, established clump. Isn't it handsome! I left some anemone and mint at the back, to keep the ribbon grass honest.

And here is the little-column-that-could, isn't it darling?

"Oh, puh-leeze."

How 'bout them apples?

It is another bumper year for the big apple tree to the right of the back deck. The branches are so loaded they're drooping. I keep bonking my head on them when I try to get around to the compost heap on the side of the house. I think I will instigate an apple-picking party in September, so they don't all go to waste, rotting on the ground. Last year I tried to keep some in the fridge, but they got pretty mealy by the end of the fall. I'm not too sure what this tree is - the apples are huge, not too red, and flavourful. They're not the crisp taste sensations that smaller apple tree (over to the left of the deck) produces, but they're really good for pies and crumbles. The raindrops seem to heighten the impression of bountiful harvest, don't they?

The rain also left the smoke bush looking exceptionally smoky:

In the background you can see the monarda (bee-balm) doing its thing. It's really tall this year, and is standing up much straighter after a couple of rainy days.

Oz was too, until H came along.