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| Queen Elizabeth, developed by a Lutheran Six-Day Creationist. |
One lesson learned is - wait for the surprise success. I had no trouble growing Hollyhocks in Michigan and Arizona, but no results here, until... I wondered what the huge plant with enormous leaves was doing, right where people turned to get into the Ichabode front door. Careful research proved it to be - Hollyhocks.
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| Hollyhocks are as graceful as Ford pickup, but bees love them. |
I remembered planting root stock for Hollyhocks and thought I saw some starts. I decided one plant was pretty good. But then, after generous rains and sunny skies, some appeared here and there where I planted them. I have to allow for rabbits eating yummy fresh, tender salad on various types - such as Hosta - but also a rebirth of that plant in spite of the haircut.
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| Clethra - blooming in July - enticing the butterflies. |
One meal really bothered me - a brand new Clethra was yanked out of its hole, the crime scene pointing to a squirrel. A second also failed but provided a tasty meal for some critter. However, three Clethra are doing well and should be flowering next year.
The previous Clethra veterans are 8 feet tall now and just starting to open their buds. Butterflies have arrived to enjoy the Joe Pye, Clethra, and other flowers.
Joe Pye is my favorite for rebounding. The first one planted was protected but not the second one, so it got weed-whacked. It seemed to disappear thought I gave it extra water. Now #2 is very tall, and so are the backyard ones and the Little Joe Pyes, which I also thought were gone.
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| Veterans Honor, in memory of Pete Ellenberger |
The best experience today was walking over to fill a hummingbird feeder and finding a perfect Veterans Honor rose, peeking out of a very healthy Joe Pye. (I believe in companion planting.) We have so much Joe Pye that I did not mind cutting that rose and trimming the extra Joe Pye around it. The rose stem was the stoutest of all I picked today.
Besides that, the Enchanted Peace roses were blooming - six to a bush - all over the garden. At first I thought they were over-rated, but they have proven to be stunning, changing in color as they blossomed, and prolific in production.
We have always loved Queen Elizabeth roses. We have planted them in memory of Bethany and Erin. Last year's did not do well, but today we had a beautiful, delicate, long-stemmed Queen E for the altar arrangement.
Every gardener can (and will) talk about all the horticultural disasters. But God created through the Logos - the Son of God - so that mistakes and misfortune would be overcome by the superb engineering of those first Six Days. A bad gardener is one who gives up. A good gardener is one who, without prompting, will say, "You think that is bad...?"
As experts have said, the congregation used to be a place where a pastor started and never left. He and the congregation grew with the community. That was when the pastor, parish, and community respected the Word of God.
The alternative to that model is a faction or rival pastor driving the minister out of that parish. That is no shame. As I told several pastors (the old joke) - "Better pastors than you have been driven out of a church." That just means God is giving the Word a chance to grow someone else. We all know that the denominations protect the evil, felonious, and seldom sober pastors because the leaders identify with them.
Creation is not going to change, and neither will the growth and the abuse of Christianity. The Word will have an effect that is solely God's will and prospers God's will so obviously that no one can say, "Look at what I did." Fuller Seminary salesmen want to take credit and have their fellow apostates admire them, their Father Below nodding his approval.
