I am so NOT a gardener. I don’t have the movement for it. I love gardens though, I just can’t tend them. Yeah, I can water them with the sprinkler and I can pick the caterpillars off … which is about all I do. I have a young friend who also has issues and he loves to garden but because of epilepsy he cannot drive. He planned and planted my gardens and I water and pick off the caterpillars. I purchased the lots around my house … in the middle of a scrub forest … so that I could remain in a forest and have all the wildlife be safe in there. However, I draw the line at those pesky caterpillars which will eat a full size oleander plant in no time. I can go out and pick a big plastic cup of them off the plants every day! They are pretty easy to spot as they’re bright orange, but many times they hide on the underneath of the leaf. I don’t get them all, but at least I rescued the plants. It seems like I had to be weeks at it before it passed and they went on to be moths – or whatever they get to be. A black and orange moth, I think. My only other plant eater is the gazillion of bunnies around me. I don’t have the heart to hurt a bunny … but many of the hibiscus and gardenia’s – once the greenery has gotten to a more mature stage the bunnies leave them alone. They probably are lured by the early green shoots. So to get them past that stage … I put rugged cardboard boxes around them. Bunnies can probably smell them, but they don’t bother to try and get them. So one of my gardens is nicknamed the Box Garden as it has been chomped too many times to survive without some sort of protection. I also put big plant pot saucers underneath all the full size plants and they attract way more birds than my multitudes of birdbaths. I guess they feel more secure and protected in there. Or maybe they just want privacy, who knows? I ended up putting smooth stones in the bird baths on one side, too, as the birds didn’t like to land on the edges. As soon as I put the stones in … they loved them. Finally, Annie T, I admit it. I stole your lovely little design and made a mask border on the top. They were adorable! Just had my second vaccine shot and have the weekend with no plans … just in case. So, maybe I will get to play some. If you have read this far … thank you! A bit chatty here.
