My Sweet Larix Kaempferi

Douglas William Jerrold, the English dramatist and writer, is reported to have said, "He was so benevolent, so merciful a man that, in his mistaken passion, he would have held an umbrella over a duck in a shower of rain."

I thought of this quote when I came across one of my favorite strips from Mutts, which I've posted above today's blog entry. As you may recall, dear reader, I am a Mutts fan, and if you want to refer to Blogger entries where I've referenced this fantastic strip, please click here, and you may also click here to "catch" my tumblr post which includes yet another Mutts strip.

My sensibility towards the 80+ things which I grow in my urban (NYC) terrace garden can be quite similar to Jerrold and Mutts; as there are moments when I want to hold an umbrella over some of the things I grow; especially when they are suffering from too much rain; as they did this past May. Too much rain, however, was hardly the issue this past week, as NYC was under a very oppressive heart wave for a number of days, and I wanted to stand in my garden with my umbrella, to give a few of the less heat tolerant things that I grow some shade, as there is nowhere to prop one up, and there is little, if any, shade in my garden.

My delicate looking Creeping Thyme has died, and I am quite concerned that my sweet Japanese Larch (Larix Kaempferi) will not survive this heat wave, even though I moved it under my table to give it some shade. It looks very depleted. The Creeping Thyme will be easy to replace, but it is always sad to lose a living thing. As for my Larix Kaempferi, I might not find one for a long time, and it will be the second time that I've lost one. 

The first one succumbed to grubs, as I wrote about in a previous entry here on Blogger. Therefore, the idea of losing the one that I have now is heartbreaking. If you follow this blog, you will know that my Larix Kaempferi has a held a very special place in my garden and in my heart.

Moreover, this past June, I made my third garden-themed comic strip (my strips are dedicated to the things which I grow in my garden) and it featured my awesome Larix Kaempferi. 

As you may recall, my first comic strip featured my Fagus sylvatica (Beech Tree) enjoying some amusing moments, and it was posted here on Blogger this past June. My second strip featured my playful Heirloom Original Poet's Daffodils, but because this strip was more of a mini-documentary of the Heirloom Original Poet's Daffodils' life, I converted this particular strip into a flip-book for tumblr, and you may view it by clicking here.

However, I've been holding off on posting the strip I made featuring my Larix Kaempferi, as I was waiting for the right moment, and now I don't know if my Larix Kaempferi will live to see his cyber-space recognition. I will post the strip tomorrow after Juan V comes to my garden to let me know my Larix Kaempferi's prognosis.