"What is the tree that ‘Sum & Substance is planted under? Could it be a Cercis ‘Forest Pansy’? Such unusual heart shaped leaves. And those hostas really are huge. You have such a nice large property. Looks like a LOT to take care of, I don’t know how you gardeners with large properties do it!" Yes, a Forest Pansy. I "do it" (this year anyway) by taking my photos from afar so you can't see the weeding I'm behind on. It's all I really do from April through October, am retired now. My May standouts this year have been all foliage related. I put in several Spirea 'Candlelight' on the back side of my perennial bed that you don't always see. Well the new growth was astoundingly gorgeous butter yellow that contrasted so nicely with the creeping phlox blooming around it. The 'Little Honey' oakleaf hydrangea is bright yellow, the new growth on the conifers is SO gorgeous, the new Acer leaves, my variegated Kousa dogwoods, the gold Hakone, the 'Sun King' aralia. Even the very plain green growth on everything is so new and lush and verdant- it all just screams fresh new start in May. I love my blooms, I do- my group of 'Blueberry Bliss' Irises is a showstopper in May. But the leaves, the foliage- it's all so perfect this time of year that I really try to appreciate it before the bugs and summer heat tire it all out. I'm getting up there and trying to take in every moment I have outdoors and staring at foliage has to be one of the favorite things I do. We have undeveloped property beyond the fencing and we sit back there just taking it in- I can lose hours staring at the woods. I think the Japanese even call it forest bathing, so it's not wasted time to me, it's why I enjoy living so much.

The green slate is always going to bring out the yellow orange tones in the wood. Not sure how you will overcome that. The red rug makes the floor even more green. Changing out the rug could go a long way in improving the appearance of the foyer.

Thanks @GardenHo_MI_Z5! My photo taking skills have definitely improved over the years It helps that my youngest took photography in school and has given me advice. I stand as close as possible (some insects are shyer than others), and then take photos with the zoom feature and then I take a lot of photos. I mean 20-30 even 40 if I think I haven't gotten what I want. And I'll stand there for a long time. Last photos of July! A view of part of the garden that runs along the street, looking from the back. Wool Carder Bee (Anthidium maculosum) The middle right of the yellow and orange bed. The columbine was planted late this year so it didn't flower but the plants are humongous. I was hoping my hibiscus would have opened in time for a July photo but alas, not quite ready.

Jay, if you click photo, it will take you to your downloads; if you click Houzz photos, it will take you to the ideabooks within houzz. To use photos from ideabook, you will first need to create ideabooks and upload photos there. The reason why your photos uploaded directly from your downloads folder on your computer or phone do not show up after you have chosen them for adding to the post is that they may be a size too big for houzz. Thus issue is resolved via ideabooks at times because I think it tells you the pic is too big to upload when you are uploading on to the ideabook. Either way, the solution is to somehow reduce the size of your photos before uploading on houzz ideabook or directly in a post. I hope this helps.