Thursday, July 1, 2010

In Which I Fight Back

You remember the horror I experienced earlier this week.

Today I armed myself.

Duck, you want the birdseed under my salvia?


You're going to have to work for it. See that pathetic plant in there? It was beautiful until the ducks trampled it in their attempt to get birdseed. You could argue that I shouldn't have planted it directly under the birdfeeders, but a) I was expecting it to attract butterflies and hummingbirds and that seemed like a reasonable place, and b) I'm feeling very sensitive about my recent horticultural failings and you shouldn't make it worse by being sensible.

The fencing will need some encouragement from a rubber mallet, but it was after 9:00 when I got it in and I was in danger of being killed by mosquitos. This will give the ducks a challenge, and we can hammer it in later.

In speaking with people about my rabbit problem*, I was told I had four options: chemicals, bone meal, blood meal, and marigolds. Being a hippie vegetarian, I chose the flowers.

Marigolds surround three sides of the garden now, and hopefully the back is protected by the trellis.


You want it, rabbit? Hold your nose and go for it.

*Okay, my alleged rabbit problem. I admit to not actually seeing the little bugger eat my plants. There was one sitting in my backyard when I got home from work attempting to look cute. All I could see was a big neon sign about its head that read, "Hungry."


2 comments:

  1. I've heard the same about marigolds. They are also supposed to keep away a certain kind of pest, but I can't remember. Hopefully you will win the battle this time!

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  2. And I forgot to mention in my other comment that my mom just bought some Dusty Miller and is planting that around the flowers the bunnies are eating. It's supposed to seriously ward them off, so you might give it a try if the marigolds don't work.

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