No fuss

 

This pretty Russian sage grows along our driveway in Twisp, perfectly happy with zero water in the hot, intense sun. All I do is cut the dead tops back in the spring and give it a handful of granulated fertilizer. Frankly, most plants that hardy in the Methow Valley are invasive pests.

But give Russian sage some shade (like this one under our plum tree) and the plants tend to flop open as stems stretch for sunlight. 

We've been lucky so far in Seattle regarding the wildfire smoke. Over in the Valley, it's been coming and going with the wind shifts, mostly from the big fire burning near Lake Chelan. I'm planning to make a quick trip over in the next few days and check things out. Summer flies by too fast. We're already staring to notice the shorter days.