This is what happens

When you prune hydrangeas too hard in the fall: few flowers. But a dandy bush now, primed and ready for next summer. 

In the not-so-nice-looking category, this overgrown and dying Photinia. These shrubs (trees when unpruned) are prone to fungal disease and all sorts of other pests, so no great loss here, except it somewhat blocked a view of the gosh awful metal garage? the neighbor built smack up against the property line. 

The garden is still beautiful for August but slowly moving into the clean up phase. The mornings are darker and starlings gathering in the fig tree, which means fall is around the corner. 

We've only had a couple days of measurable rain all summer. As the climate changed our plants have evolved naturally with more shrubs and fewer thirsty flowers. 

There was never a master plan for this yard anyway-- more like plant archaeology, one layer on top of the other, survival of the fittest. Everything must adapt, along with our expectations of what is beautiful. 

"Men argue. Nature acts."  Voltaire