Every plant bursting from the soil now came from labor last year or even earlier. When I bought a bunch of Bee Balms on sale, I found most people were denouncing them as non-growers. This spring those slandered plants were early to burst out, and they are racing toward the bloom cycle now.
Early spring is all brown and grey, but now we have gone through a cycle of daffodils in bloom. Ranger Bob and I thought the daffodil greens were still soaking up sun for next year, but those were the Iris greens, the vanguard of the blooms, just starting now.
Before the crew came earlier, I removed all the hollow, white canes of Joe Pye, plus some of the same from Shasta Daisies and Bee Balm. Now those areas marked with dead growth are filled with new growth.
Joe Pye is a tall herb, but late in starting and blooming. Their sprouts are necessarily energetic to reach the heights again. Likewise, the Daisies are constant bloomers and spread well in the clumps, so I see them getting ready.
Hosta were not my favorites until I saw how effective they were in attracting hummingbirds. Besides that, Mrs. Gardener offered me free, big plants to use in thinning out her collection. I purchased lots of tiny Hosta starts and despaired, especially because a gardening friend said, "The rabbits devoured all of mine." But early Spring showed a wide variety of colors and styles.
Prince Charles wrote the introduction to a huge Hosta book I got used, discounted because he is in it or in spite of being honored?
Hosta fanatics have an enormous variety of greens and blues and smooth and rumpled leaves to choose. I like them for their trumpet flowers feeding the Hummers, and for their nature to grow in clumps for division (with a saw or pruning knife). I even have some in the back, which will stay to add to the attractive power of new Joe Pye. The same gardening area featured a beautiful example of Hemlock, but I cut it down, lest someone or something chew on the leaves. Ladybugs adore the plant, which is easy to find in wild areas around here.
I like Wild Strawberries in the rose garden. They are distant relatives of roses. More importantly, they bloom in shade or sun, attracting pollinators and serving as ground cover. They also bloom early and fruit all summer. I transplanted them until I realized a tree stump was enough to attract birds to do their own planting, with fertilizer added.
In sales, the managers said, "Current work now will give you an income in the future, so do not go slack from a few sales." That lesson has been lost on the current generation of lazy apostates. They do not believe in the efficacy of the Word, so they neglect the energy of the Gospel in bringing their work to fruition. The expensive gimmicks, lures, and programs they buy from Fuller, Trinity Divinity, and Willow Creek are like the chemical fertilizers bought at the hardware stores and gardening centers.
Has anyone taken a deep breath in the fertilizer aisle? That is a big clue about chemicals working a bit at first and then washing into the groundwater to be bought and replaced. True nutrition comes from Creation, not a factory, and remains in the root zone to feed life and recycle in various forms - from manure to earthworm to worm castings (better and more effective, with a nicer label). Worm castings are not like fishermen casting for fish, but worm manure.
There is only one energy that accomplishes God's will and generates the fruits of the Spirit - the efficacy of the Gospel. Those who believe in what God promises have no trouble sowing today, knowing the harvest will come in the future.
