My front and back yards are under constant threat from invaders. I will talk about three today. First up, the violets:
This is a wee part of the front yard. Violets everywhere.
No, really, they are fucking everywhere. I don't even care about the dandelion.
Yup, they are all over the front too.
Next up, the maples:
No lie, I rip up some of these suckers every day.
I don’t have photos, but I also sawed down two trees that had grown to my height. There are three or for more to go.
However, I did have fun tackling these two invaders, plus some of the vine-y periwinkle today.
This is a tall wheelie bin full of garden detritus, composed almost entirely of maple and violet corpses, with a few periwinkle and bits of lemon balm thrown in too. Note the woody roots on those violets. It's almost like the whole yard is a single organism. A single organism trying to eat my brain.
I’m also putting some clumps of lemon balm and periwinkle into pots to give to brave friends, especially those with balconies.
The cull was in large part a first step in my quest for a path to the garage and composter. I think I made great strides:
A path! A path!
A totally heinous photo, yes, but it was night time. All told, I probably spent about seven hours in the garden this weekend. And it rained yesterday. Addiction!
Anyway, the other day, on a whim, I bought some cauliflower plants and put them in the box. Within 36 hours, this happened:
Squirrels. Again.
Detailed damage. So frustrating.
So I bought provisions.
A heap of marigolds from the local farmers' market and a fake owl (!!!).
This actually confused the hell out of my cat. He's perched atop a steel pole that has been in the garden for years, but seems to be immovable. Finally, it shows its usefulness. The owl's head moves in the wind, by the way.
The marigolds were put in pots in strategic places throughout the yard. But then this happened:
Shredded! What the hell? Squirrels are supposed to hate them!
They also tried to dig UNDER the veg box:
Notice all the roots despite the clearing? Lemon balm remnants, mostly.
So, the owl hasn’t caught on yet. Nor have the marigolds done their job. Now’s the time for the big guns:
This is my first chicken wire experiment, over the pumpkin plants I started indoors a few weeks ago. I fail at arts & crafts.
Coming soon, more chicken wire experiments and weird sculptures/barriers I worked on today. Got too dark to take good shots tonight. But I leave you with some good news:
Combo of tall pot and marigolds did the trick for keeping the squirrels out. Hurrah! Fingers crossed that it holds up.
Also? My twig battlements are still holding up, though I suspect that this pot's perch atop a stack of patio chairs is partly responsible.
Also coming up: Hostas! They look amazing.