The Creation Garden Emerging

Blue-green Humpback Whale Hostas. The ribbing is intense, as Prince Charles would say. 

The rain let up today, with some mist to remind us it could continue. Rainwater continued down the sloping front yards for a long time, especially those with no mulch. Ranger Bob gave me a truckload, and I used most of it before the rain. Wood mulch absorbs the rain, and the rotting wood feeds the soil, holding water back and in the soil.

Creation is all around us and often not noticed.
Who did this? - John 1:3 - The Logos.

Roses love lots of rainwater, so our old and new ones leafed out and built buds ready for blooming. The bonanza of usable nitrogen also greened up the other plants and sent them out of the ground:

1. Joe Pye Weed
2. Bee Balm
3. Poke Weed (free bird feeders in the backyard)
4. Lilies 
5. Calla Lilies
6. Violets
7. Wild Strawberries
8. Dandelions (an herb used by Hummers, good for the soil, great for its leaves as salad, and good for a coffee substitute in the roots - I'll pass on that)
9. Mountain Mint and Cat Mint
10. Clethra leafed out, Hostas everywhere.

I laboriously listed them because they are great to see popping up as the Daffodils are fading away, far too slowly.

If something is growing up without having much value, I let it grow a while and cut it off at the ground level. Deep roots are good for the soil, soil creatures, and fertility in general. Some plants, like Spirea are obnoxious, so they get dug out. 

Our next weeding will be the wild roses blooming early and then snagging gardeners the rest of the summer. 

Joe Pye is definitely a bully plant, positive and negative. Based on Carbon Cowboy information, I could grow them just for soil and drainage improvement. On the bullying side, they easily dominate most plants, but they can be cut back. On the positive side, they attract Hummers, Butterflies, and bees.

The two backyards got dog-patchy for various reasons, so they are being revised this year. Last fall, Howard removed and mulched over the former Triple Crown blackberry patch, aka Jackson's Folly. I started some Clethra there last fall and now they are like tiny sticks with tiny flowers. 

A few Joe Pye will fill in the two backyard gardens and allow space for future bulbs.

Last fall, Dottie removed the Spirea and moved the Hosta mostly to the backyard, under the formerly jungle-like green fence. Some Hostas burst into perfect form with less sunlight.

Hostas seem to be readily eaten when they are tiny, tasty, crunchy, appealing. However, the critters left a few behind, so small ones are gathering momentum in the front yard.

Elderberries are prized for their medicinal value.

 Elderflowers are covering with beneficial insects, then become Elderberries.