A lady walked by my house a few weeks back with 4 kids in tow, and stopped to look at my garden. Naomi was with me, and started to chat with her, and then pointed to me and said that it was actually my garden, not hers. I love how my friends have become so much a part of my home and garden that strangers can't tell which of us actually live here. The lady said that all I was missing was roses and hibiscus, and with a smile I pointed to my baby roses and my tiny Bluebird Rose of Sharon bush (which is a blue variety of hibiscus), and told her that we think alike.
The tiny little poppy which Josh planted put out a miniscule orange flower. It's a start. My garlics sprouted scapes this weekend, which are their flower buds, and I need to cut them off or it will affect the development of the bulbs. Josh mentioned that if left alone, they produce nice purple flowers, which taste good too. I have decided to leave one flower just to see what it does.
I have been seeing baby slugs here and there and so many snails, so Josh bought a bottle of beer and we will be getting a load of discount slug-be-gone from Claude. I put out small cups of cheap beer all over, and yesterday morning I saw lots of little underage slugs od'ed on booze. It may be less effective than the slug-be-gone, but it is a mini census to give me an idea of how big a problem I have. My pansies have been munched to a mere skeleton, and there are holes in my violets and potatoes by it is not nearly as bad as last year at this time. It is hard to know if it is a result of rain, temperature, or my efforts to counter the effects of hay and lilacs which are ideal breeding grounds for slugs and snails respectively. It may take years for me to really know. Still, having listened to my avid gardener colleagues and volunteers at work complaining about how backbreaking it is to turn their earth, I am willing to fight the gastropods to keep the hay.
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