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| Matthew 6:28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (Proof that God over-ruled Lammerts' fashion sense to blend the DNA of the Queen Elizabeth rose.) |
Our newest member asked how much time I spend blogging. Once I wake up, make coffee, and read some news, I always write a new post on gardening.
This has to amuse B__ endlessly, because he urged me to interlace my polemics with gardening, which suited me. If I have a new topic from religious news, I like to balance it with gardening experience and knowledge. Now I have regular readership for gardening and a new gardening book soon to be finished.
My proof-reading editor just finished with Jesus Lord of Creation, a book I wrote some time ago with Norma Boeckler's artwork. Every aspect of gardening is best explained by Creation. The Word reveals this mystery, but gardening research confirms the mystery.
A mystery in the New Testament is an article of faith revealed by the Holy Spirit in the Word. The unified truth of the Scriptures gives us many additional ways in which to see that same mystery revealed, explained, and supported. Thus Creation by the Word is expressed in another way when St. Paul calls believers New Creatures, or New Creations. Just as the Lord of Creation fashioned the universe by the Word, so the Gospel Word creates new believers.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
The forces of anti-faith are strong, and they work best from within. People should remember that the fiercest opponents of Jesus and the Apostle Paul were religious leaders, not the Atheists Forum. No one is more sanctimonious that a religious opponent of faith, because his trust is in his works. He boasts about his ancestors, as if he picked them himself. He points out his great success and honors, overlooking everything else than might detract from his "glittering vices." (Augustine)
The anti-faith religious leaders are eternally vindictive and never satisfied with the destruction they have caused. They form fellowships to accomplish even more for their Father Below while searching for more converts, making them even more fit for perdition. hypocrites! "...For ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves." Matthew 23:15
Creation Gardening is a wonderful way to see how God has engineered each plant and creature to do His work on our behalf, managing them all in perfect harmony, even after we toss our man-made tools into His machinery.
Jessica Walliser has solemnly warned gardeners to cease and desist fall gardening clean-up campaigns. Let the seedy flowers stay. Keep the stalks standing. Pile up the leaves and debris instead of carting them to the curb where a cost-conscious gardener will grab the bags and use them himself.
Th autumn leaves are falling now, even in the last effort to humidify and scorch us in Arkansas. I see them as fertilizer (carbon) for the soil fungi, blankets for the flowers, hiding places for the beneficial bug babies of next year.
I came in from the bird feeder with an apparent streak of deep red blood on my arm. "What's that?" Mrs. Ichabod demanded.
"Oh, that is stain from the Pokeweed berries. I brushed against them. Indians used them for dye, and birds love them."
The Pokeweed is borrowing the sun and water of the Butterfly Bush, so it thrives and tries to reach its maximum growth in height and width. I will keep a number of them growing and fruiting, because they are late season bird-feeders. So are the two Beautyberry bushes, equally toxic to us but delightful to birds.
As I wrote before, Brett Meyer piled up leaves under his cherry tree for the winter, doubling its production. We mow leaves into the grass and pile them under the bushes. Imported leaves are placed on the cardboard to keep it down and enhance the decomposition started when the sunlight is blocked by the new, free carpeting of cellulose.
On Saturday the neighboring teens will cart their fine carpet of pine needles to the Hosta garden, which already has its cardboard layer. Their mother wanted to get rid of the very materials I coveted. "I want the cones, too."
"You do?" the daughter asked.
"Yes, they will be part of the mulch for the Hostas."
I helped start their first rose, a Veterans Honor that was getting too much shade where I placed it. That is their practice rose, and it is doing well already, moved at the wrong time, but getting loving attention.
Next spring, God willing, the backyard gardens will be covered with leaves and needles, undergirded by cardboard, a fine soggy environment for plants I will install.
I have planted first and mulched around them later, which is far superior to rototilling. But I believe an early start on composting the lawn is better. The first stages tie up a lot of ingredients in the lawn, and the soil creatures need time to populate and soften the soil. Grass roots do not rot overnight, and earthworms shy away from early decomposition warm-ups.
