Azalea Earth Day

Today is Earth Day. Why isn’t every day Earth Day? It should be and maybe already is for some. Ewa from Poland wrote in her blog, Ewa In The Garden, about ecology issues in her post
We Are Drowning-Gardeners Unite . She then went on to post about
how her garden gets greener every year. In keeping with her theme, and because it is Earth Day, we will do some musings about this idea. But to spice things up a bit, there will be some (surprise!) Azalea photos to keep the gentle readers from losing focus. Not that any readers would do that, but we needed an excuse to show how the azaleas are coming along. Above, Rhododenron ‘Arneson’s Gem’.

This is our first harvest from the season of food.
Click here to read about our decision to grow more edibles in the garden this year. We feel that growing your own food is a good way to help the environment and benefit your palate at the same time. No insect poisons are used here on any plantings, food or ornamental. Black Kow brand composted cow manure in a bag was added to our chocolate cake soil in the new veggie area for some additional nutrients.
Yolanda Elizabet of Bliss showed us how to make a
radish sandwich in her post about food from her garden. We only had a salad with our lettuce, spinach, radishes and chives, but it was mighty tasty.

While you gaze at a close up of R. ‘Cannon’s Double Yellow’, I will tell you of the tale of my letter to the editor of our local newspaper several years ago. We had moved to Texas from Tennessee then and liked to keep up with the news of our former town by reading the paper online, especially the editorial page. Astonishingly, on Earth Day of that year, the editor wrote his piece about how Earth Day was a bunch of hooey. I am paraphrasing here. As sometimes happens, that lit my fuse, and I composed a serious word lashing on the subject ending with a big “Shame on you”. I knew the editor personally, and was aghast that he had taken that stand. The letter was published, but I never knew if there was any feedback from the general readership. But my opinion was expressed anyway.

We have only a very tiny bit of lawn, the rest of the property is garden. I had to buy a new electric lawnmower this year to replace the little electric model that we had used for more than ten years. You can read about that
here. Having less lawn is a good way to help the environment and yourself. Having less lawn or none means less work mowing, if that is all you do to your lawn, or less adding of fertilizer and other products to make it grow faster so you will have to mow more often, and allows for more space for gardens.

While watching a show on HGTV recently, they were ‘going green’ in the home. Mentioned as ways to turn your home into that color were things that our family has always done, they just didn’t have that title. Using every bit of every thing, not wasting electricity or anything else was considered being thrifty, not green. Same idea, different moniker. They even mentioned having furniture passed down from older generations as recycling. This sort of talk presented as new ideas seems somewhat too trendy for this to be taken seriously. Is that wrong?
Above is R. ‘Golden Lights’. I don’t remember it being so pink last year, but this is an enchanting color. Maybe it will fade to a more golden yellow. Or not.

A close up shot of an evergreen azalea, R. ‘Pride of Mobile’. If any of you know how people from Tennessee feel about their University of Tennessee football program, you will be surprised that a bush named for a town in Alabama, their arch rival in all things sporting, could be found growing in a garden here. The truth is that the two shrubs we have of this variety were purchased in Texas and brought to this house to be planted before it became Faire Garden and was still known as the TWC soccer party house. These azaleas are examples of the offspring Semi School of Gardening; Do nothing whatsoever to tend any plant, occasionally be sick on it, throw beer on it and lay on it if you are unable to stand, and the plant will not only live well, but prosper.

In this full frontal shot you can see that the lower branches never developed on this shrub planted near the pond, so we have pruned the top to keep it small enough to not stress the trunk with excess weight. It looks like a prize azalea standard, very expensive in the marketplace. So chic!

The pink dogwoods are still showing color, click on the photos for a better look, although the leaves are starting to develop and will push the flower petals off the stems soon. The ajuga lining the stairway to the top is still flowering blue and the pink dianthus is just beginning to open. When I think of Earth Day, this is the vision that comes to mind. A riot of plantings, a bit overgrown, but offering something in all seasons with a little pruning and weeding when time permits to keep it on an even keel. This statement may lack the zeal normally associated with Earth Day reportings. That is the idea.

Gardeners love the earth. It gives them strength and happiness to be stewards of the soil. We are preaching to the choir here on this topic. But is preaching to anyone really necessary or beneficial? Does it change behaviours that might not be in everyone’s best interests? We do not know the answer to that question.
Shown above, yellow creeping jenny, euphorbia dulcis ‘chameleon’ and ajuga.

Here is the reason we need to be careful with the earth. Time does not begin and end with our own existence. There are others to think of. This little guy , two year old offspring of offspring Semi, mentioned above for her famous gardening school of thought, enjoys gardening. He likes to water and dig and plant. The seedlings that he grew himself are carefully tended by him. He is shown here looking at the pond. The under seven set are hypnotized by the pond, the fish, the rocks around the pond and the water spouting from the concrete frog’s mouth. He is going to get a closer look.

With cheerios at his side, he could sit in this uncomfortable looking position all day, comtemplating life on our home planet, Earth.

Frances

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