random thoughts – Day 1,538 – (Tuesday) – busting out

Backyard irises.

The yard (and the month of June)  is busting out all over (sing it with me!). Parts of it are already passing peak. The irises have bloomed and gone from the front yard, but out back, they are just opening. The peonies are filled with tight buds that will explode open soon. 

Lily of the Valley has crept a foot beyond the space under the lilac (which was spectacular this year) and into the lawn. The Columbine escaped being chomped this year, but maybe because it was protected by the wall of Lily of the Valley.

Best roses in years.

Out front, the rhododendron was prolific but it was fleeting. The lingering blossoms are faded and new , leafy growth is providing an overall scraggly effect. In both yards, the bleeding hearts have grown bushy and crowd everything nearby.

In addition to the lilac, the rosebush has been a surprise this year. After several years of looking crappy and having few blooms, it was cut back rather drastically. It felt reckless. Desperate. And this year, it is full of flowers and looks the best it has looked in five or six years.

Not far from the impressive roses, another scene is playing out. In a new twist, the mums and coneflower are having problems. For several years, a mum has been added to the front yard, and this year, four have them have come up again. They all started out looking healthy but now three of them seem to be under an ongoing attack. Each morning, the mums and coneflower are newly chomped down to nubs.

Chomped.

Research (aka a Google search “what’s eating my mums and echinacea?”) suggested spraying chili oil and water on the plants to deter the chomping critters. Family Dollar didn’t have chili oil but they had hot sauce made with cayenne pepper, so I gave that a try. 

Once or twice a day, I’m spraying red juice from a pink bottle onto the mums and coneflower, but not necessarily faithfully and diligently, and then I notice they are all chomped down again. I’m generally of a neutral to friendly stance regarding the furry neighbors that invade the yard, but I start to lose it when they eat my plants.

Critters are the reason I gave up trying to grow tomatoes after several years of effort. The cost of the plants and the ongoing labor to keep them alive was hardly worth the annual yield of, at best, three cherry tomatoes.  And now the flowers under attack. Errrrr.