After Sassy got her chicken at Patricia and John's house, we came home, rolled out the garbage barrels (aka bird feeders), and did some watering.
Sometimes the rain is sparse, so I watered the new Bee Balm and the Calla Lilies, which are in bloom again. I dumped the last barrel over containing rainwater and emptied the 21st century barrel boasting a drain hose at the bottom and a critter fence at the top.
Rain water is always good because of its lack of chlorine and abundance of useful nitrogen. I had two new roses which looked like they would never sprout. I kept watering them, especially on windy days and snipping some stem off to wake up the roots. The red turning to green leaves are the sign of roses rooting and reading to grow. I gave them daily doses of rainwater and that first red leaf and stem came out, so I did a little more sprinkling.
Phoenix required a paper bag or cardboard box to keep roses from drying out in the hot wind. I also got used to sprinkling the canes on windy days.
The mulch works several ways to improve the garden. All organic matter will convert to soil over time. Mulch shades the soil, which plants appreciate. Mulch harbors delicious insects and other creatures to feed the birds and their young. Ultimately, the wood which uses nitrogen at first will release it into the soil as decay happens.
Cardboard with wood mulch on top will last a long time.
I also use mulch to mark new plants and those which respond to more care. Joe Pye is so large that it creates a weed free zone around it. Bee Balm is so eager to spread that it requires little care once it gets established.
All this comes from the creation of our world by the Word of God, and the perfect engineering which adjusts, repairs, and builds up all life.
