We can start with pretty pictures, like the top photo of two pink rain lilies. These flowers pop up intermittently after a good shower. Zephyranthes grandiflora are small bulbs that are easy to forget about, but they’re a wonderful surprise when they show up.
I’ve never planted cleome (cleome hassleriana) before, and at first, I wasn’t impressed with the blooms. But they keep opening up on these multi-flowered clusters, and I wish I’d planted more. It’s also called spider flower or grandfather’s whiskers.
I recently said I’d try to do a panoramic view of the backyard, so here’s the result. It’s not wide enough to include the far-right/west part of the garden and patio, but it meets my goal. I wanted to show the althea on the left, the bed at the back center, and the gardenia on the right. Pardon the big, dead limb hanging at the top. We’re not sure how to get it down. I’m glad I took this picture early in the week because of the next picture.
A few days ago, another huge limb fell from the live oak tree. It is tangled in aggressive, sterile wisteria vines that are holding up one end of this limb. Don’t get me started on that stupid wisteria. What good is it if there are no fragrant, beautiful wisteria blossoms in the spring? Useless! But it is so hard to eradicate. This new eyesore is something else we have to figure out how to get rid of.
So what about the slugfest? For weeks I’ve been at war with the slugs in my garden. I see the damage they’ve done to certain plants and have tried numerous things to eradicate them. As a result, my early morning walk around the yard has not been the leisurely stroll that I used to enjoy. Instead, it’s a reconnaissance mission to seek and destroy while the enemy is still active, and it’s a gross way to start the day.
They don’t have an appetite for everything in the garden, so my husband said, “Why don’t you just not plant the kinds of flowers they like?” Full stop. Hmmm. I’d never considered that.
But I want dahlias, melampodium, daisies, gingers, zinnias, and strawberries. So do the slugs.
So we are at an impasse. I may still pick off a few on my walkabout, but it’s not the obsession I was dealing with. What happens happens. It’s nature’s way. I’ve backed off.
And miraculously, the slugs have backed off too.
Y’all have a great week.
Shalom, Dottie
Remember to check out #SixOnSaturday on Twitter for more contributions from other gardeners. The guy who started this Saturday thing is @cavershamjj and his blog is https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/
Dottie Lovelady Rogers 
I’m sorry it’s Sunday (barely) before I’m getting to my Saturday emails, but loved your post Ms. Dottie. And loved the panoramic view. It’s as though I walked out your back door! Slugs?! What can I say? I dislike them immensely too. Better than leaches, but not by much! Your struggle made me think of my struggle with barn swallows in the past. It seems the more I do battle with them, the more that show up. I think there’s a biblical lesson in there somewhere. 🙂 I’ve never done it, but heard that slugs can’t cross crushed eggshells on the ground. Also, DE (crushed fossils) has been used in local vegetable gardens to create a barrier to keep them out. God’s blessings, and while your hubby makes perfect sense, I’d hate for all y’all to miss our on the beauty some of those flowers you mentioned slugs like bring.
LikeLike
With all your responsibilities, I’m honored that you read what I write every week. I don’t know how you keep up with so many blogs and such every day. I’ve tried several methods with the slugs with limited results: crushed egg shells, shallow containers of beer, as well as DE. I don’t want the DE to damage my earthworms, so I don’t use it anymore. Picking them off to drop in soapy water or squashing them is a certain death. But they’ve slowed down for some reason now.
LikeLike