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| Clethra, or Summersweet |
Most people would pass by the Clethra in the bird feeding area. In fact, when I did some pruning, I ended up with three of them, not to mention three Chaste Trees. Amost Eden kept me well supplied with plants I never heard of before.
Summersweet is noted for being especially attractive to butterflies and all pollinators. The rose garden in front has morphed into a butterfly garden, with a lot of Joe Pye growing.
I no longer try out plants in the back, because I overlook them and neglect them. More sun is available in the front; the sprinkler sprinkles on the just (flowers) and unjust (weeds) alike.
Everyone asks about the Butterfly Weed, which has bright orange flowers for a long time. The Hidden Lily Wild Ginger prompted similar questions, especially when it grew and grew and produced no flowers - truly hidden. Meanwhile, Hidden Lily bloomed like crazy in the sunniest part, on the western border of the rose garden. But I digress.
Chaste Tree was a bear to dig up and replant on a hot day. This time I soaked the Clethra and its new home for a long time, since clay is so ornery this time of year. Summersweet will grow where we can all see it and enjoy its fanclub swirling around it.
I was thinking about the substitution of evolution for Creation. People look at the same mechanisms and offer two entirely different causes. If the Word of God can raise the dead, who are certainly unknowing, as the widow's son, young girl, and Lazarus were, then the same divine Word can create life perfectly engineered and managed to be successful in its role.
My spare Chaste Tree languished in the far back garden, no matter how much I watered it. I finally looked up directions. The website said, "Never water the Chaste Tree - and give it lots of sun." Pruning was OK. I pruned it severely, moved it to the spare, sunny garden in the back, and saw it perk up and grow well, without watering it. Mrs. Gardener pointed out how beautiful its flowers were.
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| I enjoy watching bumble bees work their way through Chaste Tree, Bergamot, and Cat Mint flowers. They love Joe Pye, too. |
Cat Mint has shown an ability to stay in bloom and spread out gradually from its original location. Therefore I am putting plugs of it around the maple tree in the rose garden. That area has been prone to rampant growth of weeds, so I am going to displace the weeds with mint. It is not a rampant grower like Catnip, and its roots are not as steely tough as Mountain Mint and Catnip.
More Territorial Plants - Good for Several Roles
- Hostas spread and feed hummingbirds.
- Garlic chives spread around roses and protect them, improving their health, so say the rosarians.
- Wild Strawberries are planted by birds and feed the birds. They bloom early, even in the shade, and attract pollinators.
- Shasta Daisies spread in clumps and are easily divided and spread around the garden. Beneficial Tachinid flies love them and their fly spawn eat aphids.
