Beautyberries (Japan) will feed the birds late in the season. They are from Almost Eden Gardens and Nursery.

We were in Moline for a week, staying at the Comfort Inn, where I told the manager he needed to prune his KnockOut roses to make them bloom again.

We came home to KnockOuts six feet tall and in full bloom, with about 50 roses per bush. I trimmed the colored ones, watered them all, and enjoyed seeing rain lead to even more blooming.

The entire front yard was in color for our return, which was great to see. Going away makes the progress more spectacular, especially when rain obliges the gardener during the absence.



My four little Cat Mints arrived in the mail yesterday, and I immediately put the plants in a bowl of water to soak. The rainwater in barrels had been dumped to make way for the new storm, so I traded tapwater for rainwater a few hours later. This morning I immersed the plants completely in rainwater to boost the stems and leaves before planting.

Cat Mint is the non-invasive cousin of Catnip, a plant I would never wish on anyone. I have to mark these new plants so no one walks over them during their rooting and growing. I use cardboard and newspaper mulch, wood mulch, and small logs to create a square for their growth.

I am planting beneficial insect plants among the roses to encourage more of the tiny wonders like Hover Flies, plus butterflies and bees.

I want the Cat Mints to be knee high by next week, but I have to wait. Patience is slowly taught in the garden. I only need to look at the Beautyberries or Crepe Myrtle to see what some watering and mulching with do, with steady pruning of the Crepe Myrtle. Now the bush is a giant bird-feeder for the winter, having converted the many pink blooms into hundreds and hundreds of seeds Cardinals love to eat.

I would love to have every rose flourish, every weed die, every sunflower seed left in the ground to grow and bloom. I can think of many failures, as Matthew 13 and Mark 4 describe. Our helper makes fun of my tiny Elephant Ears, the smallest in the area - more like mouse ears. But there is no doubt that the toxin-free Creation Garden is productive beyond all hopes, boasting:

• More birds and butterflies all the time.
• Toads, beneficial insects, and spiders.
• Many types of berries, mostly for birds and squirrels.
• Roses, Dandelions, Hog Weed, Pokeweed, Clethra.
• Morning Glories, Hosta, one (1) Sunflower.
• Beetles, Glow-worms, Slugs, Earthworms.
• Moles, ants, etc.

Patience means working the plants and soil, a little at a time, doing less than 1% of the work and getting 99% of the credit.

1 Corinthians 3:6-8King James Version (KJV)

The base of the Crepe Myrtle is where I store wood found on our morning walks. Some Bermuda Grass is poking up (bad) and also Hog Weed on the right, which fixes nitrogen (good). Small logs become new plant borders, toad shelters, bird perches, and fungus food.

The Crepe Myrtle has given up its pink livery in exchange for a tall, insect sheltering, bird nesting seed storage unit. Cardinals approve.

The $1 a bag mulch from Walmart covers more grass, in case we need some gardening area in the spring. Cardboard is the base.

Along Mr. Gardener's fence, the roses bloom against a backdrop of Morning Glories and Hosta.

This Veterans Honor rose shows why the fragrant blooms are appreciated so much. They last long in the vase and outshine most roses.