Well, it’s Memorial Day weekend, and for those of us unable to go out of town, it’s proved to be a great time to finish planting for the summer. By now the pansies have, for the most part, bit the dust and it’s hard to pretend otherwise. I’m sure there are some of you who have them in the shade and are thinking it’s a waste to get rid of plants that are still pretty, and I know it’s no fun having to pull up the pansies and throw them away with those cute little faces staring at you, but it must be done. Not only will the yard look better, but there’s still time to get the summer flowers you want before selections dwindle down.
Another thing I’ve noticed this weekend are the weeds and the bugs that have already invaded! You’d think they would let us enjoy the fruits of our labor for a while before they attack, but no such luck.
I”ve learned the easiest thing to do with the bugs is hit them hard when they first show up, and then keep an eye out every few days to see if any have returned. As for the weeds, well, you can spend every day spraying or pulling up, and they will never be all gone. Wouldn’t it be nice if they bloomed and looked like flowers so we could leave them where they are?
The last thing I want to complain about are the animals that think my plants were put there just for them to eat. Between the groundhogs and deer, I’ll be lucky if I see a rose or coneflower bloom! You’d think to have deer in my yard I lived in the country, but actually, I live close to work on Friendly Avenue, so there’s no getting away from nature. I remember two years ago when we had the drought and the deer didn’t have anything to eat, I gave them some leeway when they ate my roses, but there’s no excuse now. The groundhogs just love to eat, no matter what it is, but I’ve found a spray that actually works to keep them from eating my flowers. We also have one for deer, so stop by and pick some up if you’re having the same problems.
Well, summer is just getting started, and there will be lots of watering , weeding and debugging to do over the next few months. Hopefully we will have rain every other night and sunshine every day throughout the summer, with no humidity and 80 degree days. Like that’s going to happen!!