Where did I leave my pruners?

My day in the Garden
This is how my gardening days usually go lately; I can’t find anything in the yard anymore. I spend all my time looking for lost tools. I’ll prune something, stack it then drop the pruners to carry off debris, planning to return momentarily. I see something else on the way back to the pruners and become distracted from the pruning job.

A large clump of grasses or weeds lurking amongst the flowers catch my eye. I weed a bit then I begin to look for the rake to rake the weeds and grass I’ve just pulled before they can rebound and reroot. On my way to find the rake I see a lily with a heavy head that needs to be staked. I remember a stake is on the spent Iris so I go looking for it. I finally locate it then stake the plant.

Then I remember, as I see the wilting weeds, I am looking for the rake. I finally find it in some obscure place then rake the weeds into a pile. I need my gloves to pick up the pile so I go to the garden table to get them. Not there. I remember I took them to the house so they would not get rain soaked, so I go to get them on the ledge of the porch. Bingo. Gloves on I pick now up the weeds.

As I am carrying them off I see a six pack of wilting Petunias that desperately need to be put in the ground. I need my trowel. Hmmm? I look for one of my three trowels and finally find one in the herbs where I was digging grass days ago. I plant the Petunias then notice something that needs to be pruned.

I can't remember where I left the pruners, it’s getting hot, I’m beginning to sweat and need a drink of water. I’ve gone full circle. No wonder I'm tired at night.

Flooding at the Doomsday Vault... an Unexpected Oddity.

 

For those of us who garden, Nature is fascinating, always shifting, and emerging in different directions. From shere powers of our own observations we notice changes however subtle. It seems that in spite of some current observations which dispute Global Warming, it does indeed exist. I can recall the first time I observed pollution from automobiles. It was a crisp winter day in 1986 and I was taking my usual walk to the top of the hill on the little red dirt road. Since we are only three miles from it, I could always see I-40 and this day for the first time I noted a hazy brown line above the trucks and cars driving the hi-way. Back then traffic was infrequent and I believe most goods were still shipped by rail rather than trucks however since then the traffic is choking and a monstrous cloud of hazy pollution may be seen for miles. With our actions, mankind has indeed altered the climate of our planet, leaving potential disaster in our wake.

With the knowledge of radical climate change, the ‘Doomsday Vault’ to house seeds from all over the planet was built in 2008 in the most perfect setting possible… the remote island of Svalbard Norway at the Arctic Circle near the North Pole. As I wrote in April, the vault is humanity’s assurance of food perpetuation in case of a catastrophic event, such as nuclear war or an asteroid strike. Regardless of politics, each nation has contributed and the repository contains over 865,000 varieties of seeds from around the globe, with an intended capacity of 2.25 billion seeds.’

Built 8 stories down into the frozen tundra, the Norwegian government felt the seeds were secure, nestled under permafrost which is, as its name implies, permanent ice. Last week an alarming report of great import was seen as a mere squiggle on the news… five days ago it was reported the entrance to the vault had been breached by floodwater. The area sees only snow however due to climate change and unusual warming there have been a series of unexpected rains which melted the permafrost. Thankfully the flooding did not make it to the seed depository.

Scientists have waterproofed and removed electronics from the tunnel leading to the vault, and dug trenches to channel water. They have hustled to install pumps in the seed room to save them should it be breached. The Seeds are the life-blood of the planet and mankind; they are perpetual and must be saved at all cost.

Perhaps we should consider our own ‘global footprint’ which is the measure of human impact upon the Earth's ecosystems. It estimates how rapidly we are depleting Earth’s natural gifts with our unconscious actions. Perhaps we should seek to slow down a bit and simply enjoy the glorious moments we have been given.

May and the Arrival of Bugs

In the Garden

By Catherine Dougherty

 

 

If April showers bring May flowers we will be delighted, particularly after the storms wrought such havoc. The weekend storms were unlike any in recent memory with torrents of rain for days, sustained winds that ripped and tore foliage, uprooted trees, produced mini-tornados, and did substantial damage. These storms have an intensity that is frightening and seem to increase in velocity as they travel across the country.

It is fortunate it is so early in the season because Nature will repair the damage to the trees and shrubs. However there is no such luck for the Peonies that were in full and glorious bloom… the wind and rain shortened their show and it will not return until next spring. The up side is the late blooming Iris are putting on new buds and Oklahoma has finally emerged from our drought status.  

In checking the garden, I noted the deluge did not deter the hoards of bugs invading the garden. The most invasive so far seems to be the blister bug seen scurrying among almost all the garden vegetation. Blister bugs belong to a group of insects who have met on a collision course with mankind for many years and are considered ‘very bad bugs‘. They travel in packs and migrate to whatever seems delicious at the moment, and unlike some insects that have a favorite flavor the blister bug eats everything indiscriminately. Thus just as the produce and flowers reach their peak, they arrive enmass and strip the plants of all protective foliage practically overnight. 

 

A clever insect, they have been known to drop to the ground and ‘play dead’ when disturbed. When that tactic fails, they release their infamous caustic toxin Cantharidin, and it is from this they get their reputation as ‘blister bugs‘. If crushed, the beetle literally bleeds this chemical from its joints and any skin contact with this goo results in painful blisters.

Blister bugs love alfalfa flowers and have often been accidentally ground up during harvest resulting in Cantharidin infected hay. When consumed by livestock the resulting blisters may cause illness so this beetle is quite dangerous. To rid the garden of them I recommend shaking the branch and stepping on them with hard sole shoes and since they will have squished, do not touch the soles and leave your shoes outside… high and away from children or pets.