ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the National Council of Churches.
Ah, yes. You almost wanted to plant daffodils last fall. The ground was either dry and hard to manage or soggy and discouraging. Oh - and the bulb packages were so expensive.
Some bargain bags might arrive very late, the chilling winds less than welcoming. As one helper said, "You have enough daffodils." That has become a garden joke mantra, along with "You have enough roses." I am third generation in growing flowers, so I will face the wind and pollens steadfastly.
Impulsively, I planted enough Joe Pye Weed to welcome every butterfly and bee in Northwest Arkansas. I coddled Clethra until I began to realize their aggressiveness once planted, coddled, earthwormed, and manured.
An anti-gardener said, "You paid money for a weed? Honeysuckle? I had to tear it out!" I set aside a sunny patch next to the garage. I obtained cow squares to support the vines. I was given a rain barrel to water the honeysuckle and the roses. The fragile looking vine now looks like it is going to cover the county in time.
My generation loved the Classics Illustrated, comics giving the basics for the great literature and popular literature of the past.
A Lutheran Family Robinson is living in a beautiful location for observing Creation. Like many, they are fashioning a home for bees, which means a source of pure honey and beeswax.
I decided to add my earthy advice on how to keep the bees happy and well fed.
I belong to that class of gardeners who start ordering any plant called a pollinator. That designates a plant that will attract and feed bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies. If anyone doubts the Creation of the universe by the Word of God - the Logos - then spend some time sitting on the ground with the pollinators and their associates, since each one needs the others. I never get stung.
Seldom do the scientists acknowledge that the class of living things had to be created within a short period of time, or the eaters and eaten would have died immediately. The greatest rose - Queen Elizabeth - came from a Creationist. The most obnoxious weed - the blackberry - was promoted by an atheist horticulturalist.
Bee Balm - in Gilead
Bee Balm is my all-around favorite because of its prodigious blooms and slow expansion of its territory. I dug a clump up for the Butterfly Garden and now enjoy seeing a large patch of flowers there, a good source for more islands of Bee Balm elsewhere.
Bee Balm grows down near the sidewalk and also close to the front, shaded patio. Some are light blue while the newest are scarlet. People debate whether the color red matters to hummingbirds, but I have seen them darting from one red blossom to the next.
We watch the bees and hummers while we are drinking coffee. One carefully works over each blossom. Hummers sip from the three (3) feeders and fight over territory.
photo credit: Peter aka anemoneprojectors via photopinccBorage is not only a honey plant, but also one of the most famous ancient spices and a valuable herb. It is traditionally cultivated as a vegetable type and spice, but it is also gwon for pharmaceutical purposes, because of the oil extracted from its seeds, which is often called “star flower oil” or “borage oil”.
If we can believe the descriptions of Dioscorides and Pliny the Elder, borage was probably the magical plant used to make a drink of oblivion mentioned in the Homer’s “Odyssey”. The truth is that this plant were used in different ways known from ancient times.
Borage – how is it grown?
Borage is an annual plant with branching stem that usually reaches a height of about 25 inches that is believed to originate from Syria. Now it is grown literally everywhere, and only in North America it takes an overall area of 20,000 acres.
Centuries ago, the Europeans used to make some tea form the leaves of the plant by soaking them in wine. In 1597 a herbalist named John Gerard pointed out several advantages of the herb and even said that the syrup made from the flowers of borage helps healing depression. Nowadays borage is being sown in order to attract bees, which makes it a valuable honey plant.
Borage is a tiny plant, though I have some larger ones from an Amazon order. This little herb is easily sown with abandon, where it will bloom, drop seed, and draw the bees into its tiny flowers, which are pink and blue (no, not gender related, just cute).
Borage does not take over the garden and adds to the overall population of beneficial insects which live by eating pests or leaving their eggs near pests. The little ones hatch and eat the destructive pests.
Borage is easy to grow and inexpensive.
https://www.kiwimana.co.nz/borage-good-for-bees/
Clethra - Summer Sweet or Sweet Spice
This shrub costs about $20 and grows slowly. How do I rate it? I bought two and they slowly grew, now about 7 feet tall. I bought four more, and one was eaten by a quadruped, devoured. However, the other three were protected by a plastic collar and are flowering today. I only had a total five for the front garden, so I planted four more in the back garden. They are now blooming - tiny but working their way up as pollinators.
Clethra attracts butterflies, as well as many kinds of bees, and hummingbirds. The shrubs have a Cinnabon sweet smell of cinnamon and thrive in the sunlight. I enjoy the way they give off their fragrance the rest of the summer. No one is looking on the porch or driveway and suddenly - "What is that wonderful aroma?"
Clethra are slow to grow when ordered through the mail, but they are long-lasting and pest-free - as long as they can get rooted in the early weeks.
Mountain Mint Finally Fulfilled My Hopes
Mountain Mint was buried under mulch and cardboard - by mistake. We could not find them. The first two tiny plants soon burst through the Stygian darkness of their burial and grew rapidly. I was disappointed that they did not create the flying frenzy of insects I observed at the Washington DC gardens.
But lo, this year has produced two shoulder-high crops where the space above the mint is crazy with butterflies and bees of all types, in constant motion.
Joe Pye Weed and Little Joe Pye
Joe Pye Weed was used by Joe Pye as a medicine - so they say - and is now enjoyed by butterfly and bee enthusiasts. Little Joe Pye is a short version with the same profile and flowers.
Joe Pye enjoys the same energy as Mountain Mint - its bees and butterflies abuzz like satellites trapped in the gravitational pull of earth. The leaves have a strong musk aroma joined by the vanilla scent of the flowers. The large version is a true bully plant, spreading out and up to gain all the solar energy. However, the stalks can be trimmed back for better views of the roses and other garden plants.
Yesterday we were enjoying the Hummingbirds at the feeders, sipping and chasing each other away. Our best view was blocked by Joe Pye stalks, so I cut enough away individual stalks to offer a complete view of the feeding.
I was admiring the Rose Garden this morning, from lilies to roses to the giant Joe Pye Weed. Everyone is enjoying all the color from roses, Caladiums, and lilies. I had my eye on two Joe Pye Weeds, already six feet tall and loaded with buds.
Wait a minute. I looked back and forth. One was a genuine Joe Pye. The neighbor was a Poke Weed. They had a similar shape and height, identical color, a deep green, sprawling branches soaking up solar energy (soon to be banned or taxed by Joe Biden).
The Poke buds look like this now, but still green.
Those green Poke buds turn red and become juicy but almost tasteless berries.
Pollinators help the process as the green turns to white and then red.
The giveaway is the bud formation now, the fruit later. Then the bushes really depart from each other. Poke will turn the white baby buds into berries loved by birds. The Joe Pye will have scented compound flowers.
Joe Pye buds are quite different from Poke. They form compound flowers with a vanilla scent. Butterflies and Hummingbirds love them.
Some will shout, "Cut down the Poke Weed." As long as it is growing, it is fertilizing the soil and providing food for the birds. If it is too much of a bully, I can cut some of it at the base and let more sunshine in.
The Joe Pye can be trimmed back too, but is now in its most valuable stage as it goes into bloom.
I bought three potted Easter Lilies for Easter Sunday, going through the offerings at Walmart and its local competitor, Harps. That group provided one bloom and many buds for Easter Sunday. Now they are in full bloom.
I started with a few Hostas from the Gardeners' over-supply, years ago. The ones from the front yard were roasting in the sun. They were moved to the shade of the green fence planted by birds resting on the log fence in the backyard. The Hostas were mature, so they are bursting out of the ground now. With a bit of luck, more will be established this year. I have learned to use the plastic collars around each new Hosta, because the critters love to tug them out of the ground and eat them.
Instead of chemicals, Howard promoted the use of organic matter to keep the soil in India fertile and productive.
Hosta blooms are loved by hummingbirds.
The Bee Balms are popping up now. Until a few days ago, they seemed to be gone. They are well established and enjoyed for their not-so-ironic attraction to bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. When the Military Gardening Group gathers on the front porch for coffee, the plants and their tiny companions serve as constant entertainment. I enjoy hearing them and guests ask, "What is that?"
When our vet tech neighbor looked at our Joe Pye Weed in bloom, she said, "I saw those at the nature preserve. I live next to a nature preserve!" Joe Pye is especially loved by butterflies and bees.
Like Joe Pye, Clethra is a late bloomer, but very welcome. Clethra provides a cinnamon sweet fragrance, best enjoyed by a gentle breeze. Insects love the tiny compound flowers of Joe Pye, Clethra, and Mountain Mint.
Hostas come in many colors and patterns, and critters love them small. All my new Hostas are collared and watered with rain from the rain barrels.
We had a little rain before, just when we needed it. Then this storm moved in from the West, fairly weak all day. Now it is booming overhead like the finale of a July 4th celebration.
I clipped the older blooms on the daffodils, to let the bulb grow better and not let them try to build a seed from the flower. They will produce new bulbs until they have to be dug up and separated to let even more grow.
I figure the earthworms are just as happy about this long rain - thunderous then dripping - as I am. They were doing Olympic jumps out of the bag, tiny threads ready to turn into patriarchs and matriarchs. They handle both roles.
Roses love being rained on. They are much more demanding of water than most people think.
The Military Gardening Group had a long discussion on how to deal with the tiny Japanese beetles (unlike the more popular June bugs). I have found no natural solutions, though many natural solutions are sold.
I am looking forward to the unusual daffodils blooming. I will post photographs.
The garden fragrance is powerful from Joe Pye, Bee Balm, roses, and various mints.
This morning I looked out the kitchen sink window and saw a hummingbird in the bright sunshine working up to the top of one plant, then sipping from the top of Joe Pye. Those Joe Pye plants seemed to be taking root sporadically last year, but this year they form a solid front in the first rows of the former berry patch. Upvote 1.
Ranger Bob told me how pleased he was with his Joe Pye, but worried it was shading the glads (which still have a few flowers left). I said, "You can cut the Joe Pye back soon. They will return next year even stronger. I am already cutting some stalks and using them as mulch." Upvote 2.
Mrs. Gardener said, "What are those tall purple flowers?" I told her about Joe Pye the American Indian who used that herb for making medicine. She went on to say, "I like having those tiny bees for my vegetable garden. The bees used to be sparse, but they are all over my plants now, thanks to you." Upvote 3.
Joe Pye is far beyond what most people would expect in a butterfly-hummingbird plant. They are modular rather than integrated. The stalks rise up to eight feet in a large V formation, elbowing everything else to the side or into the oblivion of shade. All the weeds disappear in the shadows of Joe Pye.
What about crowding out the Hosta and Clethra? Joe Pyes grow right up against both, which are either bullies (Hosta) or persistent (Clethra). To give them more space, I cut Pye fronds at the bottom. They all seem pretty happy anyway.
Finally I trimmed the overlapping Bee Balm (mint) and Joe Pye, both reaching for sun by growing horizontally over the driveway. That also brought the eye-level bee buzzing closer to visitors, so I cleared a bunch of both plants and laid them over grassy weed patches.
One couple decided on Little Joe Pye because of size limitations. Most patios and gardens would be happy with Little Joe. I liked their enthusiasm for the small version, so I filled the original berry patch, small gardening areas with sun, with Little Joe Pye. They seemed tiny and weak at first, but the earlier ones are waist high and the new ones are catching up. Upvote 4.
Unlike many plants shipped - where they endure lack of sun and water - Joe Pye's roots will hold fast and deliver the plant in the first year (a bit weak), the second year (confident and strong) and the third year (what have I done!?).
Are they swallowing up the roses? The Rose Garden is east facing, so the plants get plenty of sun, too much when it is 100 degrees (this week - real feel - 212 Fahrenheit). I am cutting out unwelcome weed bullies and pruning large Joe Pye plants, so the roses have some shade and plenty of sun.
I found one healthy Veterans Honor rose producing one fat to-die-for flower after another, right next to a Joe Pye, an F in garden design, an A+ in production.
I am also daily tending (pruning) the Shasta Daisies, because they host insects that protect the roses. Aphids? Sure, a few start munching roses early in the season, but that only alerted the aphid eaters to lay some eggs near them so their babies could have a hearty breakfast.
I was never a fan of John Lennon, but I was intrigued to learn that he began scoffing at evolution, late in his short life. Evolution is like Objective Justification, protected by smearing and insulting anyone who dissents from the newly discovered - or rather newly invented - truth. I may be a careless gardener, but He who cares for all has created and engineered garden life - below, and also above - to reach its maximum and even repair my mistakes.
On Sunday, Ranger Bob promised to plant Joe Pye Weed as soon as he finished his coffee.
Sassy wanted her afternoon walk at 4 PM on Monday, so we went to his door and I shouted, "I am from the United States Department of Agriculture. You have Joe Pye being held as a hostage. Open up!"
Bob said, "I planted Joe Pye. Come around and see."
He picked a great spot where the two plants will get plenty of sunlight and warmth. They began their Arkansas residency in rainwater and were growing fast.
In mid-May, with so many of my rose bushes blooming and budding, Bob wanted some rose bushes. Like Joe Pye, they are sold out in all the favorite varieties - Veterans Honor, Double Delight, etc.
Paradise was a selection in the rainbow mix one year.
There are some gardening websites where special varieties are offered, $49, $59, whatever they can get! I knew Bob was angling for the normal $20 each - plus shipping, so I kept looking.
I found a supplier I used - where we could get a rainbow mix of bare root roses for $10 each - free shipping. In the past, these have come from the same wholesale grower who sells them through Jackson and Perkins and the others. The funny thing is - they are the same roses, some extra large and mature, for half-price. Rainbow suggests they will include a red, a yellow, an orange, a bi-color, etc. The roses are named so I can look up whatever is new to me. Downton Abby inspired some, etc.
https://www.springhillnursery.com/ - That is where I am getting the rainbow collection. Those on the list of seed companies may be offered a similar deal.
I had to chase a bunny out of the back garden, where I planted six of them. While I was gathering up tools and trash, he hopped back, doubtless curious about what was new on his menu. I chased him away, yelling, "Not your garden. Get out." He hopped a few steps and waited. I pursued him until he was in the front yard.
Rain Water - Always for Planting
My mother's secret recipe was either 1) rainwater, or 2) stored water to let the chlorine evaporate out. Her school room flowers bloomed while others drooped. The teachers asked her secret; she smiled.
When plants arrive, I soak them for hours if possible. We have an all-night rain coming, so I gave them a few minutes of rainwater, then a soaking at the end.
Roses get several days of soaking, the bottom half only.
Plants can be immersed before digging them in, but not overnight. The more fragile ones, like Bee Balm, will start to die from too much water.
Rain water lacks chlorine and has usable nitrogen for the plants. During a storm, tons of nitrogen come down and green up everything, as noted in Isaiah 55:8ff.
I have rain-barrels and buckets all over the back, where the roof collects and dumps the water. I usually have a supply, and if not, I fill a garbage pail with Springdale water to let the chlorine evaporate out.
Yes, I dump water out from the barrels to avoid mosquitoes multiplying.
Rainwater for Doting on Flowers
One member (name withheld) kids me about dumping rainwater from the barrels, filling in the sentence for me - "because rain is coming."
I pick flowers to dote on so they grow even better. I did that with the slow-growing Crepe Myrtle, which now reaches up to the kitchen sink window. The plant grew faster and flowered better than its "drought tolerant" identical brothers in the front yard.
A day or two after a rain, I will pour a bucket on the kitchen window Crepe Mytle, for continued growth and flowering. I saw damage that could only have been caused by a Fluffy-Tailed Food Thief, aka a young squirrel. Looking closer, tender new branches were torn off on one side.
Over-watering can be bad from the garden hose, but it seems fairly difficult to over-water with stored rainwater. Last year was such an extended deluge that I saw lack of growth (little sun) but no death from extensive rain storms followed by more of the same. I did not use rainwater supplements.
I was happy to get the garbage barrels out of the flooded backyard, several times rolling the barrels through the house to avoid sinking into the mire, with muddy groan, unknelled, uncoffined, and unknown.
We took Monarchs for granted when milkweed was abundant.
Mosquito spraying is very effective against ladybugs and butterflies, but people can still build a butterfly garden and enjoy the results.
Joe Pye Weed kept topping the lists for fun plants to grow, so I started two and they were pollinator convention centers in bloom all summer. Butterflies love Joe Pye.
The first requirement is the sunniest place in the yard. That is also the least viewed area for us, so it was also ignored. I had a marvelous crop of crabgrass, actually a grain brought over by thoughtless Europeans. Then I tried a straw-bail garden, which proved to be a holiday resort for slugs, with this formula - start with straw and soak with water. That combination gives them all the food, water, and housing they need to conquer the area.
Almost Eden sold me two Clethra bushes, and now they are well established. Tiny flowers bring big results, and they are aromatic - songbirds like them as well.
So I turned over a new leaf and dedicated the area to butterflies. The following are great butterfly plants:
Joe Pye Weed, which can be six feet tall or the shorter variety, Little Joe. Butteflies always congregation around the blossoms.
Clethra - aka Summersweet aka Pepperbush - known for attracting all pollinators and butterflies.
Milkweed and Butterfly Weed are for Monarch butterflies.
Borage is unusually easy to grow, just scatter the seed. It grows flowers and drops seed all summer.
Hollyhocks are associated with old-fashioned gardens, perhaps because they stand out against a building and seed themselves.
I use the The Growers Exchange for herbs. The plants come wrapped and in perfect shape, still moist. They only sell herbs, but herbs are a good investment.
I kept hearing about this plant in connection with butterflies and started two plants last year. They grew and bloomed fast. The main selling point - butteflies crowded around this plant like crazy and it stayed in bloom, giving off a pleasant medicinal scent.
This spring both plants came up and look ready to bloom again, ahead of the roses.
Readers will notice that certain plants instantly attract specific insects. Sometimes the plants (like daisies) attract overlooked but heroic insects (Tachinid flies). Daisies have the additional benefit of growing in ever-growing mounds. The Tachinids attack aphids, so this all seems planned for the rose garden.
Mountain Mint is a large plant that grows well with no pampering. Its constant habit of blooming means that various insects will have a constant source of food.
I have learned that tiny blooms are favored by tiny insects, which are beneficial.
Many people perceive Joe Pye weed to be nothing more than a roadside weed and have never seriously considered its outstanding ornamental attributes. It is a substantial plant which needs space, but when planted in groups or massed can provide spectacular flowering and architectural height. Border rears, cottage gardens, meadows, native plant gardens, wild/naturalized areas or water margins.
By Nikki Tilley (Author of The Bulb-o-licious Garden)
Eupatorium purpureum, or Joe-pye weed as most people know it, is far from an unwanted weed to me. This attractive plant produces pale pink-purple flowers that last from mid-summer through fall. It’s a great addition to nearly any garden and a must have for wildlife lovers, attracting a multitude of butterflies with its sweet nectar. Growing Joe-pye weed flowers is a wonderful way to bring a little bit of nature to your backyard. What are Joe-Pye Weed Flowers? Joe-pye weed flowers were named after a New England man that used the plant medicinally for helping people with typhus fever. In addition to its medicinal properties, both the flowers and seeds have been used in producing pink or red dye for textiles. In their native environment, these plants can be found in thickets and woodlands throughout the eastern half of North America. The plants are hardy from USDA Zones 4-9. They reach heights of anywhere between 3 and 12 feet, offering great focal interest when using Joe-pye weeds in the garden. In addition, the flowers have a light vanilla fragrance that becomes more intense when crushed.
These native perennials grow easily and well. It also makes a marvelous addition to a butterfly, hummingbird, and bee garden. The flowers smell sweet with a scent reminiscent of vanilla and extremely attractive to these beneficial pollinators.
Joe Pye Weed is especially recommended for those wishing to attract and support Monarch butterflies. Other butterflies, especially those that gets attracted to Joe Pye Weed flowers include black swallowtails and Tiger swallowtails.
Because these plants do grow tall (upwards of 6 feet) and thick, they also make an excellent spring and summertime privacy screen. Planting them in a hedge along property lines makes a smart use.
Also, this plant provides an excellent backdrop for a perennial garden consisting of shorter types of self seeding annuals and/or a bulb garden.
Because these plants blossom in the late summer and into the fall, they can take up where your early bloomers left off. In this way, you can make sure of having pretty flowers throughout the growing season.
If you struggle with damp, low spots in your yard, Joe Pye Weed serves as the perfect choice. It prefers average-to-rich soil and consistently moist, and it does quite well in areas of full sun to partial shade.
Full sun is definitely preferred because plants may grow excessively leggy and limp in light shade. With the right conditions, you can count on this sturdy survivor to grow well for you and provide both beauty and function.
Is It Really a Weed?
The term weed is open to interpretation. Joe Pye Weed comes from the wild and one can quickly consider it as a wildflower. It does grow natively, yet it submits to many positive uses and can make an excellent addition to a typical yard, a flower garden, and a butterfly garden.
Joe Pye Weed As Medicine
In natural medicine, you can use Joe Pye Weed in a number of different ways. The roots are considered especially beneficial and are gathered to be dried, ground and brewed as an herbal tea tonic.
The plant holds a long history of use in Native American and backwoods medicine. You can use the roots, leaves, and flowers of all varieties to create teas that are said to address problems as diverse as:
Respiratory Problems
Bladder Stones
Kidney Stones
Rheumatism
Impotence
Diarrhea
Fever
Gout
The plant contains immune boosting polysaccharides, and stimulating the immune system may help the body to overcome fevers and illnesses on its own.
Dry The Flowers, Leaves & Roots
Sweet Joe Pye Weed with its vanilla scented leaves is the best choice for making medicinal and relaxing teas.
To use the leaves and the stems as a medicinal tea, you should harvest them during the summer prior to the opening of the flower buds. Hang them or lay them out in an area that has good air circulation. When completely dry, you can store them for use as a medicinal tea.
To make a pleasant tasting herbal tea, harvest the flowers and dry them separately.
Joe Pye (Jopi in the Native tongue), an Indian healer from New England, used E. purpureum to treat a variety of ailments, which led to the name Joe-Pye weed for these plants.[10] Folklore says that Joe Pye used this plant to cure fevers. Folklore also states that American colonists used this plant to treat typhus outbreaks.[11] The author Hemmerly writes that the Indians used Joe Pye Weed in the treatment of kidney stones and other urinary tract ailments.[12] A peer-reviewed study suggests that Joe Pye of plant fame was a Mohican sachem named Schauquethqueat who lived in the mission town of Stockbridge, Massachusetts from ca. 1740 to ca. 1785 and who took as his Christian name, Joseph Pye.[13]
Monarch Flower sounds more appealing than Butterfly Weed, a cousin of Milkweed. Monarch Butterflies need one or the other to attract them. And others like BW.
