Earlier this week, I returned from ten days in the Pacific Northwest that mostly coincided with my wife heading to Italy. There was no one here to watch over the garden, so I was happy to see that there were no significant problems. Several Japanese maples in the bonsai forest container were a bit crispy, but they should come back quickly.

No doubt, the lack of extreme heat has helped. Heat and dryness are the most worrisome combination, and if there was a choice I’d happily accept more heat along with plentiful rainfall, but of course this is not within my control. Yes, I suppose I could irrigate, but this isn’t our first dry spell and the garden has survived decades without my helping hand.

And here, I should point out that new plantings must be watered. While I often get away with watering immediately and then never again, I do monitor new plants to assure I don’t kill them in the first week. And, I do consider the potential hazards of planting through the summer, but I’m rarely dissuaded from doing so. Watering an acre and a quarter jammed with plants is a problem. Watering a few new plantings if nature doesn’t do its thing is not. If I want it, I plant it.

I was most concerned with how the newly planted rock garden (above and below) would fare through an extended dry period. The backfill between small boulders is only gravel and sand to encourage drainage, and until the newcomers grow deep roots they’re vulnerable to dryness. A few plants looked a little off, so I gave them a quick drink and everything’s good. The next day, I planted a few new arrivals that were ordered while traveling as I was inspired by plants growing in rock and gravel at high elevations on one of my hikes, with no concern that this early summer planting will be a problem.