It’s been a rough Spring and Summer. I lost my father in June. In July we moved my mother from a retirement home in Florida to a ‘memory unit’ in Ravenna. I’m visiting her twice a week and she’s finally settling in. My brother and his family live in Akron and they visit on the days I’m not there.

In June we closed our floral shop after thirty years. Everyone has to deal with events like this sometime. I’m lucky I’ve got my work, my family, my gardens, my cats and my friends to help me through.

One of the plants that I really enjoy is hydrangea, and this has been a great year for them. The ‘bluebirds’ in our back yard were amazing for Fourth of July. The ‘masja’ and and ‘All Summer Beauty’ are still in color, along with ‘Endless Summer’. The ‘Annabelle’ by our back deck is still blooming. And the ‘Tardiva’ tree-hydrangea by our driveway is just beginning to color up, with big white blossoms that will turn a little pink as they mature. We planted some of the pink ‘Invincabelle spirit’ in our front yard. They got off to a rough start with the dry hot weather, but hydrangeas are tough!