The gardening combines were worried about my lack of purchases, so they offered me a Hosta and two Honeysuckles. I enjoyed sitting down on the parched soil and digging three indentations in the soil.
I saved a bucket of rain water for the occasion. Sassy observed closely, but she is not a digger. Next door, Ghost loves pillows and cushions - to tear into pieces of fluff.
Live plants now come in clear plastic capsules, tightly wrapped to make sure they stay green and appealing. I used scissors to cut through the transparent shroud. I put the miniature in a clear plastic cup (saved normally for roses) and let the plant hydrate.
I have two ways to protect plants. One is the plastic collar for keeping plants warmer during the winter. That also keeps destructive critters away - squirrels and rabbits. I poke bamboo sticks inside the collar to keep it in place and to signal where new plants are growing.
The Honeysuckle will be fragrant and produce fruit next summer. The Hosta will grow and supposedly be a solid yellow.
Meanwhile, the Rose Garden is producing flowers from watering, cool air, and pruning.
John 15:15 I AM the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I AM the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
The flowers on the altar yesterday meant more roses for today. When roses are cleansed (pruned), they grow blooms faster, send out deeper roots, and extend their branches. Enchanted Peace is seven feet tall.
Faith in Jesus Christ is a continuous cycle, which He explained in John 15. Those who do not remain with the Savior - like the grinning, happy-camper-producing clergy salesmen - wither, die, and are removed. Those who remain with the True Vine blossom are absolved of sin - and form the fruits of the Spirit, all God's work through the Means of Grace.
