Thursday, August 9, 2012

Creeping Jenny and Teddy Too

Today I had planned to write exclusively about the plant 
commonly known as Creeping Jenny,
which has done the job I planted it for 
and successfully covered some planters that have seen better days.

But then it occurred to me I had missed an opportunity in my previous blog post 
to introduce readers to our foster dog Teddy Bear Blue,
who had accompanied us on our trek through Great Bridge Lock Park
and is a frequent companion on other walks.

Teddy in front of creeping jenny tendrils:

Teddy (we also call him Ted) is up for adoption 
through the Potomac Valley Pekingese Club,
a rescue group that works tirelessly 
to save abused and abandoned pekingese in Virginia and Maryland. 
Here is their web site:
www.potomacpekes.org

To follow them on Facebook, send a friend request to
Potomac Valley Pekingese Rescue.
It's a great place to connect with other pekingese devotees.

And a popular blog about pekes 
is written by one of the Club's Rescue Directors.
My husband and I never miss it:

Ted has the most adorable pekingese profile:

Teddy is an enthusiastic traveler, hiker, and photographer ;-)
He's also a bit of a Don Quixote in that he feels a moral imperative 
to slay every fire hydrant and cable pedestal he encounters.
His greatest love is going for long walks with his foster parents
--and even better if he gets to drive to the location first.

Here he is at Oak Grove Lake Park earlier this summer:

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In one of the photos above, 
I positioned Ted in front of one of my Creeping Jenny plants.
Also called moneywort
 (wort being an Old English word meaning plant),
Creeping Jenny has been creeping along since the 15th century and before.
I love the plant's symmetrical leaves and its graceful habit:

The twin leaves are why this plant is also sometimes called two penny grass:

Margaret Grieve, who wrote "A Modern Herbal,"
said this plant was once also called serpentaria in old English herbals 
because wounded snakes were said to seek the plant out for healing.

Fortunately, I haven't seen any ill or wounded snakes 
comforting themselves in my Creeping Jenny
--just an adorable pekingese looking for his permanent family.
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