Why I Don't Have Houseplants

Frances' fairy garden was a great inspiration!

Gardening trends come and go, and I don't usually pay much attention to them--my garden is never going to be featured in a magazine, that's for sure.  But one popular trend in gardening that has piqued my interest lately is fairy gardening, especially after seeing so many delightful miniature landscapes in various gardens this past year.  I had finally decided on the perfect place to create a home for the pixies in my own garden, so when my friend Beckie asked me to go with her to a workshop on fairy gardening at a local garden center this fall, I eagerly agreed. 

The workshop was mainly focused on creating an indoor fairy garden, but the best part was the 30% off coupon all of the particpants received. I bought a few accessories that struck my fancy, but passed on the bottle of fairy dust--a tiny plastic jar of glitter selling for $3.00 (!).  I was going to put them away until spring, but that coupon was still burning a hole in my pocket, and I thought what the heck--an indoor fairy garden would be something fun for the winter, so I bought an inexpensive shallow pot and several small indoor plants.

My granddaughter came over one day, and together we planted the fairy garden; I let her choose where to place the curved path and bench, and she even managed to squeeze in the curved bridge.  The end result wasn't anything spectacular, especially since it had neither a fairy or a house, but we had fun nonetheless.

After the storm

When the weather began to turn cooler, I brought the little garden inside, finding a temporary home for it near the patio doors.  Not a good idea as it turned out: one morning I noticed that some kind of freak storm had hit the fairy garden and uprooted several plants.  I pushed them gently back into the soil, hoping they would recover, and began to wonder about this strange meteorological occurrence. Another result of climate change, perhaps?

Only a little polka-dot plant remains.

Oddly enough, the same storm hit several more times over the course of the next week until one morning I found the garden upturned, with most of the soil on my carpet, the bridge upended, and most of the plants past rescuing.

I had begun to form a plausible hypothesis, and sure enough, my suspicions were confirmed one day when I noticed a streak of gray out of the corner of my eye.

 Don't let this innocent face fool you.  The evidence was overwhelming: pawprints were taken, and sure enough, traces of potting soil were found. The mess was cleaned up, but I guess the fairies will have to wait until spring for a new home that will be safe from Storm Widget!

And that, my friends, is why I don't have houseplants.

Seeking Advice from Hortense Hoelove

For those of you unfamiliar with the name Hortense Hoelove, Hortense is often a guest blogger at May Dreams Gardens, answering gardening questions.  I'm not sure what Hortense's credentials are, but if Carol thinks she's qualifed enough to take over her blog once in awhile, then that's good enough for me.   She was the logical person to go to for the answer to a question that has been bugging me for over a year.

Dear Ms. Hoelove,

Something has been nagging at me for some time now, and I hope that you can help me.  A year ago I decided to dig up another area of the back lawn to create a new flowerbed.  Usually I don't consult with my husband before doing such things, but I thought it would be courteous of me to mention it to him since he is the head of lawn mowing here.  To my surprise, he wasn't very thrilled with the idea and told me, "You have enough flowers."  "Enough flowers"??  I've never heard this phrase before and wondered if there was such a concept.

When I created the new lily bed, I kindly made it longer than intended for ease in mowing around it.

I do believe what my husband was thinking was "Great--another doggone flowerbed to have to mow around," but that is not how he voiced his objection.  Fortunately, he eventually changed his mind (after some subtle persuasion that included a promise by me to mow this whole area) and even was helpful enough to help me spread compost all over the new garden area last fall.  But his comment still haunts me--did I miss something in my MG classes two years ago?  Is there a book or magazine article that explains this gardening theory?  Are there bloggers out there who have posted about their finished gardens with just the right amount of flowers?? 

Without the new Arbor Bed, I never would have had the space to plant more than one phlox.

Now I understand that there may be people who have turned every square inch of their lawn into a garden and really don't have room to add one more plant without taking something else out first.  But space is not an issue for me.  I developed this obsession with gardening only a few years ago, and my garden is very small compared to others I have seen.  I still have a few acres of virgin soil here, and unless I win the lottery and can afford outside help to remove all the lawn, I'll never run out of room for gardening!

OK, I admit it--I'm addicted to heucheras . . . and hydrangeas . . . and daylilies . . .

Perhaps my husband was thinking I have become too obsessed with gardening.  I suppose some people might even call me a plant "addict."  During the long winter months I get my garden fix by looking at books and thumbing through plant catalogs.  By spring I have a long list of new plants that I really must have in my own garden.  As if that wasn't enough, when I read garden blogs, I'll see photos of other plants that I don't have and that the writer is raving about.  If I had the time and energy to double or triple the size of my garden, I still wouldn't have room for all the gorgeous plants that I want!

Not a penny was spent on these ruby-red lilies, passalongs from my aunt.

Some family members (who shall remain nameless here to protect the guilty) think my addiction may be going too far and that I'm investing their inheritance in flowers and foliage instead of mutual funds. True, I do get a little carried away each spring, buying trunkloads of annuals, as well as new perennials.  And, of course, how can anyone pass up the fall clearance sales?  But I do try to save some money by starting some plants from seed, and then there are the free passalongs I get from friends and other gardeners.  Besides, my needs have changed in recent years, and I very seldom go clothes shopping anymore.  The money I once spent on clothes goes to plants instead, and plant shopping is so much more fun--almost everything comes in my size!  Another point I make to those non-gardening family members is that everyone needs a hobby; mine happens to be gardening.   I would bet that if I were a golfer, I would probably spend twice as much just on green fees alone.

I can never have too many coneflowers!

Dear Hortense, if you can find the time to answer this pressing question soon, I would appreciate it. If there is such a thing as "too many flowers,"  perhaps you could suggest a 12-step program for plant addicts like me.  The new garden catalogs are coming in every day, and I'm already developing plant lust--Help!! 

Sincerely,

Bewildered

Update:  Hortense Hoelove has kindly answered my question and given some wise advice, which you can read here, if you are having similar concerns.  Mr. McGregor's Daughter also gave some keen insight into the male psyche of those non-gardening spouses, which can be read here.  Thank you, ladies!  I feel so much better now--let the dreaming and garden planning begin!

Post Season Garden Awards: 2011

It's October, and you know what that means--it's baseball playoff season!  Baseball fans across the country are cheering on their favorites, hoping they can make it past the playoffs into the World Series. We have been watching some Brewers' games, since they are Youngest Daughter's second-favorite team, and keeping an eye on the Cardinals, the favorites of some friends and misguided extended family members.  But I can't get too excited about any of the games this year, since my team, those loveable losers, were out of contention for the pennant by the first of June.  After last year's disappointing  Cubs' season, we looked to the garden for candidates for post-season awards, and it seems only logical that we do that again this year.

 This year's Silver Slugger Award goes to--drum roll, please--the Hyacinth Bean Vine!  For the non-baseball fan, the Silver Slugger is awarded to the player with the most impressive offensive stats, such as batting average and on-base-percentage.  Despite adverse conditions this year, the Hyacinth Bean never went into a slump.  Its sheer size made it an imposing figure at the plate, looking more like an offensive lineman than a first baseman.  In fact, it might have also been awarded the Golden Glove for fielding percentage, except that it had a habit of running into other players on the field.  Its enthusiasm at times had to be curbed by the manager.

Hyacinth Bean's home run stats were off the charts, producing beautiful purple blossoms like this throughout the season as well as the shiny purple bean pods this fall. A free agent, it was signed to only a one-year contract while the head office debated a permanent replacement at this position, possibly a clematis or another climbing rose like the one on the other side of the arbor trellis.  But its performance as well as the devoted fan base of hummingbirds this season may warrant a contract extension.

In professional sports there are no walk-ons.  But if there were, Cleome would be the clear winner of the Walk-On Award.  One cleome plant in the lily bed last year, pulled in late September, resulted in many seedlings in the same area this year.  At first, their appearance wasn't welcome, since the roster was already full and they seemed to upset the team chemistry.  But when the rest of the position players went into a slump in August, the Cleomes stepped up to the plate and carried the team through the late season.  They've developed quite a fan following, too, especially the bees. ( By the way, if you notice a brown blur in the background, that's the assistant manager giving some motivational words to the benchwarmers.)

There were so many candidates for Rookie of the Year this season that it was almost difficult to choose a winner.  The Beautyberry was a strong contender, especially since several of the new shrubs purchased this year had a disappointing season.  It is hoped that another year of maturity will produce better results with them, but the Beautyberry was a consistent performer all season long, finishing strong with these beautiful purple berries.

Incidentally, last year's Rookie winner was a no-show this year.  'Wendy's Wish' Salvia apparently signed with a team in Oklahoma, because she was unavailable for contract negotiations this spring.  (I've notified local agents, i.e., garden centers, to please stock her next year!)

Despite the number of candidates, the clear-cut choice for Rookie of the Year in 2011 goes to the Agastache 'Heat Wave.'  This newcomer started out as a scrawny seedling in May and quickly put on bulk to grow to three feet tall and at least the same width.  It began blooming some time in mid-July and has dazzled everyone since with its showy pink/purple flowers.  Besides being a unanimous choice of the judges, it's been a hands-down favorites of the fans as well--bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds swarm it for autographs every day.

This superstar laughed at droughty field conditions and took the heat of late summer in stride.  In fact, it was also a strong contender for the MVP award as well.  While a few players have won both the Rookie of the Year and the MVP award in the MLB, it's rather unusual.  In 'Heat Wave's' case, the only barrier to its receiving both awards is a concern whether it can repeat its stellar performance next year.  Some research on Agastaches has revealed that they aren't particularly fond of the wet, cold winters common to Illinois, so we must wait and see whether it returns for another season.  If it doesn't, the general manager has assured us there will a contract extended to a new 'Heat Wave' (or three) next year.

And now for the most coveted award of all--the MVP of the 2011 season.  Last year's winner, 'Lucky Lemon Creme' Lantana, was replaced this year with a more colorful player .... (sorry, its name on the roster is illegible). It performed every bit as well as last year's winner and has been signed to a long-term contract for the lily bed border.  However, its playing time was reduced somewhat due to salary demands.  In garden language, that means that while I was able to buy a flat of lantana seedlings last year, this year all the varieties of lantana I found were available only in 4-inch pots.  Trying to plant the same number as last year would have meant spending five times as much, so I opted for a smaller section of lantana with Profusion zinnias filling in the rest of the border.  Next year I'm going to scout in more places for the flats so that I can have a full border of these butterfly magnets.

Another candidate for MVP would have to be the Shasta daisy 'Becky.'  It is one of those solid performers that often go overlooked, but deserves praise for its consistency.  A little more encouragement this year (i.e., more frequent deadheading) has resulted in non-stop blooms from June through October.

Another possible choice for this award might be the hostas.  Veterans of the shade garden, they avoid the glare of the spotlight, unlike some of the other more colorful members of the team.  But they were the Cal Ripkens of the garden, bringing their A-game every single day from May through September.  Only now, as the season winds down,  are they beginning to show a few signs of exhaustion.

It was a close race, but the winner of this year's MVP Award goes to the Hydrangea 'Limelight.'  Some voters were a little upset, charging that those of us who selected 'Limelight' were fickle and thinking only of what looked good now, rather than all season.  There might be an element of truth in that claim because it has only been blooming for two months. But baseball fans still remember  "Mr. October," and 'Limelight' will no doubt also linger in garden fans' memories through the long off-season. Besides, it was a superstar compared to all the other hydrangeas on the team who produced very few hits this year.  And to be honest, there was somewhat of a sympathy vote here, as 'Limelight' survived what could have been a life-threatening injury when a large limb fell on it as the groundskeeper was trimming a nearby locust tree.  Thankfully, it was still intact when the limb was removed and the chainsaw-wielding groundskeeper properly chastised.  It continues to impress the crowds today with its white blooms turning to a lovely shade of pink.

I'm sure other garden managers have their own candidates for awards, and I'd love to hear about the choices.  As for me, the season may not be over yet, but I'm already heading off for spring training-----planting tulips and daffodils!

Gardening Resolutions for 2011

Have you broken your New Year's resolutions yet?  I'm not big on making resolutions, yet every year I vow to lose weight, exercise more, adopt healthier habits, start writing the next great American novel, etc., etc.  But I find January 1 is not the best time for changing my ways--it's too cold to walk outside, my favorite form of exercise, and I can't just throw out the leftover Christmas cookies and fudge, now can I?  It is a good time, however, for making new Gardening Resolutions.  As I sit and drool over all the new plant and seed catalogs coming into my mailbox, I'm thinking ahead to spring.  This year I vow to adopt some better habits in the garden and not to make the same mistakes from the past year. Here are my top ten Gardening Resolutions for 2011:

1. Find a better way of marking seeds for indoor seed starting.  You may recall the pieces of poster board I used last year didn't work very well--they disintegrated after several waterings or fell out of some of the seed trays.  This year I'm going to use something plastic or short popsicle sticks so that when I plant seeds, expecting to get these . . .

I don't get these instead . . .

The kohlrabis were tasty, but sure not as pretty as gray-headed coneflowers!

2.  And speaking of seeds, this year I vow not to get so carried away ordering seeds.   I was enticed by photos of pretty blooms and glowing descriptions of veggies in the seed catalogs to order more than I had intended.  Then Renee's Garden kindly offered me some free seeds, and of course, I couldn't pass that up. And then all kinds of interesting seeds from fellow bloggers came in the mail through Monica's seed exchange so that I had more seeds than garden space to plant them in!

Wonder if these leftover seeds will still be good this year?  Hmmm, while I'm at it, doing some cleaning and organizing ought to be put on the resolution list, too.


3. Even worse than seed buying is my addiction to plant shopping.  This year I vow to cut down on impulse plant purchases, and think about where I will put a plant before I buy something just because it's "so pretty."

Just one stage of the "pot ghetto" last year.

. . . Nah, who am I kidding?  You know I'll never keep this resolution--I might as well cross it off the list right now.


4. Mulch, mulch, mulch!  And mulch early before the weeds, especially the weedy grasses take over.

Besides saving me from hours of work, it would be nice to show a photo of the vegetable garden or a new bloom like this Gaura without having to crop it so close to keep all the weeds out of the photo.  (And since my photo-editing program is acting up today, you may be seeing more of my weeds since I can't crop any of these photos.)


5. Invest in some good tomato cages.  The ones I have, although better than nothing, are the cheap, conical ones.  A few have gotten rusty, and most of them have ends that are at crazy angles from repeated use.  They're not very sturdy; last year strong winds or perhaps an errant Golden Retriever galloping through the vegetable garden knocked a few of them over, and they never could be propped up right again.

Time to stop being such a tightwad and spend a little money to have a better tomato crop this year.



6. Plant more zinnias!  Longtime readers will remember how much I love these colorful, easy-to-grow annuals.  Last year I sowed them directly in the roadside garden as usual in May, but heavy June rains apparently washed away all the seeds. This year, if the same thing happens, I'm going to re-plant and re-plant again, if necessary, even if it's late July.

How I missed seeing these beauties this past year!

7. Plant more ornamental grasses.  Most gardeners would be surprised to know that I didn't have a single ornamental grass in my garden until this year.  But I've always been a little afraid of where to plant them--you see, we have lots of weedy grasses growing around the farm that require constant cutting down, and I didn't want anyone to think I had one of these weeds growing in my flowerbeds!

Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah' has changed my mind about grasses.  Planted in late August of this year, it's only had a little time to settle into my garden, but wow, it even looks good encased in hoarfrost!


8. Be more diligent about watering the roadside garden and planter under the oak tree. I make this resolution every year, and usually by mid-summer I've gotten so lazy forgetful that I have to replace half the plants in this container.

Maybe I'll be more motivated if I remind myself that the 1/4 mile walk down the lane

and back carrying jugs of water will be a great calorie-burner.

9.  Pay attention to frost warnings! 

This fall I wanted to bring more plants inside to overwinter, including my two 'Illumination' begonias.  I did bring one in, but it was too late.  After one night in the chilly garage, it gave up the fight and promptly died.

And while I'm at it, I really should throw those Halloween pumpkins onto the compost pile in November before they become frozen fast to the patio steps:)

10.  Finally, this year I vow to leave my gardening gloves out of Sophie's reach. 

I don't think I need to explain . . . except to say at least these were a cheap pair from the Dollar Store.  I'm not going to show you my first pair of Ethel gloves--it would make you cry:)

Ten resolutions sounds like a manageable number; surely I can stick to most of these.  But I really should add Exercise back to the list, especially since # 3 doesn't count anyway.  We have a big wedding coming up in May, so this is primarily a personal goal.  It's a beach wedding, and this mother of the bride doesn't want to be mistaken for a beached whale.  But it's also a goal for gardening.  Those first few weeks of gardening season can be torture if you're digging and toting 40 pound bags of topsoil and compost around with muscles that have atrophied over the winter, where the only strenuous exercise has been to turn the pages of gardening magazines.     . . .  Now where did I put those dumbbells??

Whatever your gardening resolutions for the year, here's to a great year in the garden in 2011!

December Muse Day: Turkey Trials

While everyone may be thinking ahead this week to Christmas, I'm still reflecting on last week's celebration for this December Garden Muse Day:

"I ate too much turkey,
I ate too much corn,
I ate too much pudding and pie,
I'm stuffed up with muffins
and much too much stuffin',
I'm probably going to die.




I piled up my plate
and I ate and I ate,
but I wish I had known when to stop,
for I'm so crammed with yams,
sauces, gravies, and jams
that my buttons are starting to pop.


I'm full of tomatoes
and french fried potatoes,
my stomach is swollen and sore,
but there's still some dessert,
so I guess it won't hurt
if I eat just a little bit more."

- Jack Prelutsky, "I Ate Too Much"

 
I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving holiday and that no one over-indulged too much.  The group at my house was smaller this year as Arizona Daughter and her fiance weren't able to come home as they did last year.  Youngest Daughter also was absent, spending her second Thanksgiving in Oregon, far away from home.  But I was happy to have both my parents here as well as both sons with their families (meaning all five grandchildren, happily), so it was a good day.  And I did talk to both daughters on the phone.  When Youngest Daughter called, her first question was "What time did you finally eat?" . . . and then she giggled.  Now that may seem a strange comment on this traditional holiday, but the timing of Thanksgiving dinner in recent years has become a family joke and a source of yearly consternation to me.  Let me explain this annual rite I refer to as "Turkey Trials and Tribulations" . . .

About ten years ago my husband, not a big fan of roasted turkey, sampled some deep-fried turkey at a local establishment and pronounced it the best turkey he had ever eaten.  He promptly decided this was what we should serve at our next Thanksgiving dinner and went out to buy a turkey fryer for the holiday. 

Now for anyone who thinks deep frying a turkey sounds weird or even blasphemous, let me explain the process.  A deep fryer designed specifically for a 12-pound (or less) turkey is attached to a small propane tank to heat up the oil.  When the oil reaches 400 degrees, the turkey is put on a spit and plunged into the hot oil which quickly browns the skin, keeping the meat inside moist and juicy.  The cooking process takes less than an hour, obviously a much quicker method than the usual roasting time in an oven. 

That first Thanksgiving of the deep-fried turkey, Arizona Daughter's then-boyfriend was a member of the university football team which had a game scheduled for Thanksgiving Day.  Everyone but me went to the game, because someone had to cook all the trimmings, right?  I listened to the game on the radio while I went about peeling potatoes, mixing the stuffing, and putting together the green bean casserole.  Husband, usually known as Mr. Procrastinator but also known as Mr. I-Don't-Cook, was in charge of cooking the turkey as soon he got home, a job I gladly relinquished to him.  Always a list and schedule-maker, I had everything planned so that within an hour of everyone's arrival, dinner would be on the table.

Once the hungry crew arrived home, the countdown began.  Potatoes were set on the stove to boil, casseroles put in the oven, and the propane unit for the fryer was lit, all with the precise timing of a rocket launch--45 minutes until lift-off!  But there was just one problem--neither Mr. P nor I had taken into account the time it took for the oil to heat up.  Minutes stretched into a hour and then two hours as the thermometer testing the oil inched up one degree at a time.  Meanwhile, the mashed potatoes stiffened and the noodles cooked especially for then-boyfriend congealed in the pot.  And I stewed and then simmered . . .  Three hours later, the turkey was finally done and we sat down to eat.  Everyone said dinner was delicious, but I think they were just so famished that anything would have tasted good. 

After that disastrous dinner, I vowed to go back to roasting a turkey for the next Thanksgiving, but Mr. P was adamant, convincing me that now that we knew better about the timing, things would go more smoothly the next time.  But propane units are temperamental and not very reliable, so while I had estimated two hours for heating the oil, the next year it took nearly three.  Even when I got smart and had Mr. P start the oil and cooking much earlier than needed, something still would go wrong.  It got to the point that when I invited everyone for dinner, I would give the time as 12 . . . or 1 . . . depending on the frying turkey. 

A few years ago, Mr. P decided to switch to an electric fryer, complete with its own thermostat, making it a more reliable method of predicting cooking times.  But even then, there are some pitfalls.  Testing the doneness of a turkey is much more difficult when you have to pull it out of boiling oil and then plunge it back in if it's not done.  And a few minutes of cooking by this method may equal a half an hour of the conventional roasting method.  One year, after testing the turkey, I suggested a few more minutes of cooking time, and we wound up with a charred fowl, though the meat actually tasted juicier than it looked.

According to the Department of Agriculture, this year's Thanksgiving meal for a family of four cost around $43, quite a bargain for such a feast.  Turkey is always an economical meat, but especially at Thanksgiving time when stores offer special prices at less than $1.00 a pound.  But deep-frying isn't quite so economical . . . Fresh peanut oil must be purchased each year, and the 3-gallon jug I bought cost nearly $30.  I bought two, because I thought we needed four gallons of oil, bringing the total to $60--five times what I paid for the turkey!  And let's not forget that fancy electric turkey fryer--$100 for an appliance used only once a year.  I think I could probably serve filet mignon to my family for the same price:)

But when I suggested going back to the old tried and true method of roasting a turkey, my family gave a resounding "no."  Both my sons prefer the taste of deep-fried turkey, and the cooking process has become somewhat of a male ritual here.  Mr. P sets up the fryer in the toolshed (for safety's sake), and my sons keep him company part of the time, trekking back to the house every 15 minutes to give us progress reports.  Like the early cave-men, they eventually come out of their cave, proudly carrying their finished trophy for all to admire.

Last year, by some miracle, the whole process went off without a hitch, and dinner, complete with a perfectly browned bird, was served at the appointed time.  I fully expected this year to be the same, but I should have known better . . . On this Thursday morning, I had the stuffing mixed and already in the crockpot to bake, sweet potatoes were baking in the oven, later to be mashed for my special casserole.  I was taking a moment to relax, when Mr. P walked in the door at 8:45 and said the fryer wouldn't turn on.  "What do you mean, it won't come on??"  He had checked it just days before and pronounced all systems go, yet on the very day it was needed, the fryer decided to just quit!

There was nothing left to do but put the bird in the roasting pan and hope and pray that the three and a half hours left till dinner were enough time to completely cook it.  I scrambled around for the next few hours, juggling dishes in and out of my small oven and turning the temperature up and down--as high as possible to get that darned turkey cooked in time, then lower to avoid burning the sweet potatoes and green beans.  The stuffing was taken out of the crockpot to make room for the ham--no way was there room in my oven for both a turkey and a ham!   Meanwhile, family members arrived, and I was on my way to an all-too common Thanksgiving fowl mood.   Finally, an hour after the planned time, we sat down to dinner, and I finally relaxed.  Another Thanksgiving near-disaster to add to the family lore!

Somewhere I read that Illinois ranks second only to Louisiana for fires on Thanksgiving Day, no doubt caused by all those propane fumes swirling around the family dinner.  Thankfully, we have never had a fire on this holiday.  Nor have we had the turkey carried off by a dog, ala "A Christmas Story."   But Mr. P has vowed to either fix the fryer or buy a new one for next year, so both possibilities exist in the future, especially the second scenario with Sophie around:)

Extra guests are always welcome at our Thanksgiving dinner, so if you're in the area next year, feel free to stop by.  Dinner will be served at 12 noon . . . or 2:00 . . . or maybe 3:00 . . .


Garden Muse Day is hosted the first of each month by the ever-gracious Carolyn Gail . . . who probably served her Thanksgiving dinner on time:)

An Alternative Method for Vole Control

This morning Frances posted an excellent tutorial on how to control voles in the garden.   I hadn't planned on doing a post today, but just by chance this afternoon my own Vole Patrol was on duty, inspiring me to present an alternative method of controlling these pesky varmints that can dig up your precious plants.  For this, the lazy gardener's method of vole control, no hardware cloth or tools are needed. 

All you need is one dog who has a keen sense of smell and likes to dig.

You will notice the now deceased vole to the left of the photo.  For the faint of heart, I did spare you the sight of the other more disgusting photos.  Suffice it to say that Sophie still thinks everything is a chew toy.

The second requirement for this method is a cat.  In this case, the credit for the vole capture goes to Tarzan who initially caught the little creature.  How Sophie managed to wrest the vole away from Tarzan is a mystery, as I missed this exchange.  However, Tarzan seemed content with letting Sophie have the spoils.  Cooperation in completing garden chores is always a good thing.

While my method produces the desired results with a minimum amount of work, if you do have a problem with voles, I highly recommend you follow Frances' advice.  Besides, there are a few disadvantages to my method: you can't plan the procedure, the digging used to draw the vole out is sometimes harder on the plants than the vole was, and it's hard to convince Sophie that her new "toy" is not allowed in the house!

I apologize if this left you a little disgusted, so here's a much prettier photo to cleanse your palate.  While I was convincing Sophie to come back inside without the vole, I noticed a Monarch floating above the garden.  I was so happy to see it, because I thought all the Monarchs had left already, and I followed it with my camera for several minutes.  Instead of landing, though, on a pretty bloom remaining the garden, it stopped in the grass.  Who knew I still had dandelions blooming in October??

Cirque du Prairie

Although recent days have been warm and sunny, the days are definitely getting shorter and nights are much cooler.  The ground has been covered with a light frost several mornings, but nothing serious enough to affect the garden yet.  But even though the plants that survived the summer's drought are still hanging on, one group of performers has already packed its bags and left for their winter home in Florida.  That's right--the circus has left town!

What, you didn't have a circus in your garden this summer?  If you missed it, let me share some of the most popular acts that appeared here this season:

There were balancing acts high above the floor of the Big Top.

Tightrope walkers . . .

 Acrobats . . .

. . . and Contortionists.

 There were so many daring feats they made me dizzy just watching.

This performer scaled a sheer vertical cliff effortlessly without any ropes.

There were numerous balancing acts that would make your head spin . . .

The lion tamers were equally brave, showing no fear of the mighty cats with their powerful jaws. 

There were jugglers as well who could catch a stick in mid-air.

And what would a circus be without the clowns?

  I think we might have had a flea circus visiting, too, but I repeatedly sent them packing!

(Please note: The juggler, clown, and "lion" have not vacated the premises

but will be overwintering here.)

And the most breath-taking of all--the trapeze artist, swinging from high above without a net. Gasp!



There were many times over the years, back when my four children were growing up and I was teaching full-time that I thought my life was a three-ring circus.  But life goes at a much slower pace now, and my juggling talent is seriously diminished.  Instead, I'm content to sit on the sidelines and cheer on my little circus performers.  I do hope they come back next summer for a return engagement.