 |
| Queen's Lace Picotee - Crepe Myrtle. |
The company above had an offer on these, and sent a free one besides.
I treated the plants like roses. I soaked them in rainwater overnight, planted them with special soil - no fertilizer added - and watered them with more rainwater from the barrels.
The destruction of the front lawn is now complete. The future Butterfly Garden is completely mulched. One section of the front lawn is mulched over and waiting for the last few new roses.
The West side of the rose garden needed a more prominent natural fence, so Mrs. Ichabod picked that area for a Crepe Myrtle fence. Remaining grass will be composted by covering the area near the Crepe Myrtles with cardboard and that held in place with shredded wood mulch.
 |
| The base of the Crepe Myrtle is a cupboard full of pruning scraps, dead leaves, twigs, mulch, mushroom compost, lumps of dead wood - a haven for soil creatures and spiders. |
Crepe Myrtle is a Southern favorite, blooming for months, loving sun, and tolerating drought. We had a straggly one near the mailbox, so I made a point of studying them on the Net, feeding the base with organic materials, and pruning.
Now the pink Crepe Myrtle is the talk of the neighborhood, nine feet tall and loaded with lush blooms last year. Underneath we planted a few matching Caladiums. Last fall I added some Lily of the Valley.
Feed the Plants
This only makes sense for Creation Gardening. The soil feeds the plant roots, and the sun feeds the leaves. Each plant has an incredibly complex arrangement for blooming and setting seed.
I do not add chemical fertilizer because those man-made nostrums only reduce true nutrient exchanges, which take place through root fungus, bacteria, earthworms, and other soil creatures.
 |
| The car shows how large this Cat is, but the ratio of moles to bacteria is far greater, and bacteria do all the digesting for earthworms. Fungus? Human hairs are much thicker. |
Last year a mole created a food tunnel under the bush, a perfect circle. Was I upset? No, because he was harvesting insect larvae and worms, mixing the soil as only moles can do. A mole is the Caterpillar of soil helpers, a giant in the world of tiny creatures - largely ignored and frequently abused by gardening fads.
Knowing the bush needed food, I began adding mushroom compost, lawn lump droppings from the mower, leaves, and wood mulch under the Crepe Myrtle. The bush seemed to devour the food set on top, but the soil creatures were eating fast and converting their food to serve the bush's roots.
When I piled up autumn leaves into a pyramid, under the bush, the entire pile composted down and disappeared - bacteria, fungus, mites, earthworms and other creatures raking the leaves down to the roots, not into plastic bags.
I also pruned the bush so the legs were bare - a custom in the Crepe Myrtle community. Little Ichabod laughed at it. Later, when the bush was in full bloom, like nothing he had seen in town, he said, "Wow."
We want to feed our children the best food for their growth and their health. When boys reach their growth spurt, they will empty a kitchen of any spare food, before or after the main meal. We used to leave leftover things out for friends' visits. "Are those for us? Thanks." Gone.
 |
| I pruned the lower half of the Crepe Myrtle, sparing the area where the Cardinals were nesting. Readers can see the reblooming. On top the early blooms are going to seed. |
The soil creatures are just as eager for good food.
But denominational leaders, crack-heads addicted to Fuller Seminary recreational drugs, want to market their addiction to others. The only growth they see from this is the growth of problems, debt, and sullen conflict - because no one dares to speak out anymore.
Solomon learned from ants, so perhaps the great and wise who pretend to follow Luther will learn from him. It is obvious they have not done any gardening.
