Pest Control

Well, it seems the critters have lulled me into a false sense of security. After a relatively pest free few weeks my new plants are suddenly sprouting munch holes right, left and centre! My previously pristine Monarda has all sorts of damage on its leaves, from knife like cuts along the sides to whole large sections of leaf just vanished. Its stems are still quite weak at this stage so it cannot be anything too large inflicting such injuries, but my hunt for evidence as to which beastie is responsible has been fruitless. No bugs, no silvery trails, nothing! At the moment I’m resorting to sprinkling slug pellets around each plant at the first sign of damage, but I fear some other nefarious bug is to blame!

On the subject of pellets I’ve been using the little bluies to successfully keep down the munching, and it has been working pretty well up to now. However i’m only too aware that these evil things are probably not the most humane way to kill slugs, and that birds or animals eating the remains afterwards may also be affected. But my plants are still so small and my slug pubs only catching the odd small fry, so its hard to know what else to do. Priority no 1 once my garden is a bit more robust will be to find more environmentally friendly killing methods!

But on to other matters. On Saturday I’m attending my first Chelsea Flower Show! Am hugely excited, and hoping for some good inspiration on plant ideas and design to take home. Chelsea seems to be quite a divisive event amongst gardeners who either love the creativity on show or hate the large crowds and high prices. Personally I feel that getting huffy about such things misses the point of being there – yes there will be lots of people and it will be frustrating at times, but getting distracted by all that will stop me from concentrating on what l can learn from all the gardens and really taking in the what, why and how of the unique planting and design. So in addition to a notepad I will be attempting a zen-like state of acceptance of the crowds, hassle and fuss, and hope to really get a lot out of the day