Thank goodness that July has passed. I’ve seen no dependable measure of the rainfall through its first three weeks, but here, the quantity must be a foot or more with several storms quickly dropping a few inches. Happily, late in the month into the first half of August, it’s become drier. Today, I watch the clouds pass, hoping for at least a brief shower.

At first, I saw few negatives to our deluge. Certainly, the garden’s ponds were filled to the brim, and even overflowing. But, torrents of rain eroded the cover of twigs and decaying leaves to strip the ground to bare soil in the shaded side garden. A few recently planted rhododendrons perished in the dampness, which wasn’t too surprising, and I figured that was the worst of it.

Leaves of several aucubas (Aucuba japonica, above) in areas where runoff was most evident began to wilt after weeks of wet soil. With drier weather, I expect most should survive after a bit of pruning.

Unfortunately, there’s more. A few years ago I was elated to obtain two Pagoda dogwoods (Cornus alternifolia, above) five feet tall with good branching. Both have grown happily in slightly damp soil and part shade, though one that is in drier ground has nearly doubled in height. But, it’s now suffering, defoliating as the small pond above it overflows. The soil is typically slightly damp, but now it’s too much.

The second Pagoda dogwood grows in damper ground, which it tolerates while it doesn’t thrive. With less runoff from the storms, its surrounding soil is damp but not saturated, so it has suffered less. Its leaves are turning to the dogwood’s autumn shades (above), but that shouldn’t be a problem as autumn approaches. The taller dogwood has lost every leaf, so there’s reason for concern, though I see new leaf buds starting at branch tips. I expect both dogwoods will survive unless heavy rainfall returns for an extended period.

Of course,  there’s no lesson to be learned. Wishing for rain doesn’t make it happen, and forget about if a little is good, a lot is better. Or worse. In the garden, we take what we’re given. We plan for the short term and the long, then adjust as needed.