Happiness Is Right Under Your Nose

I've just come back from a bitterly cold weekend up the West Coast in Namaqualand. Howling winds, rain, icy temperatures and dramatic landscapes (some of what you can see on my instagram shots). But the most visual fun I had was with the smallest of things, and a new lens that allowed me get up really close and personal.

Real Spring Onions

My spring onions are going to seed in the most beautiful way and the bees are just loving it!

We're loving it!

 I've been watching them burying themselves up to their little pollen knees for weeks now, with no letting up...

All in days work...munch,munch

These guys are good! That used to be a lemon tree.

Wanted or Unwanted?

This weekend I went to visit my folks and discovered that their lemon tree had been invaded by hundreds of ladybirds feasting on whatever else was feasting on the mildew.

They seemed to come in all patterns, colours and sizes. Can anyone tell me whether these are the ladybirds of 'killer' fame or not. Not so long ago I featured the red alert here!

The only thing that they seem to have in common is the two white spots on either sides of there heads.

It's not what you know but who...

This guy caused quite a stir and intrigued me, so I wrote to Lambert at Lambert Smith's Insecta and he very kindly sent this info back.

This appears to be a White-spotted Fruit Chafer (scientific name:
Mausoleopsis amabilis). They are drawn to flowers and also eat plant sap and over ripe fruit. They normally breed in the general proximity of horses as their larvae develop in horse dung. Which makes perfect sense as I live near stables.

Thank you Lambert

Pest Control

I know, I know enough with the bugs now! But isn't he cool?

I love my garlic chives and planted them amongst my other plants because they (according to a trusted source) are great pest deterrents.

Not in my garden. Or maybe it's a Chinese or Italian bug ~ garlic with everything, or, even better maybe he is not a pest.

Now there's a thought.

A good yarn

Not so long ago Jesse from Jesseblog featured this beautiful picture from here that instantly made me think of a great big hairy catterpillar.

Here's why.

But I'm not sure my guys are as cuddly.

Dead Cute

I have had to say a final farewell to my camera. "It would be uneconomical to repair" I was dryly informed. So this link sent to me by SkinnyLaMinx came just at the right time. Imagine your common garden variety slug visitor (of which I have many) looked like this, from tokyocube.

We'd be in a right old spot of bother. I'd have to give up my all consuming extermination campaign and go for peace, lurve and a sluggery.

Lets get the party started!

It's Friday and things are looking lively in my garden, not.

All Rights Reserved

Here is one visitor that has no redeeming features in my book.

• All Mole Crickets unwelcome
  
• If you're mother was a Mole Cricket you're unwelcome
  
• If you're father fraternised with a Mole Cricket you're unwelcome
  
• If you resemble a Mole Cricket you're unwelcome
  
• If you're long distant cousin resembles a Mole Cricket you're unwelcome
  
• If you live in a Mole Cricket hole you're unwelcome
  
• If you know a Mole Cricket you're unwelcome
  
• If you smell of Mole Cricket you're unwelcome
• If you wear Mole Cricket brown you've got bad taste, and you're unwelcome
  
• Even if you're a dead Mole cricket you still give me the kreeps so take your aura elsewhere!

Thrillers

Some visitors make me happy every time I see them, because, I know the body count is going to go up.

Quiet, Aristocratic, Assasins. I wouldn't want to meet one in bug-alley on a dark night.

Spotlight on

A bit like a Robbie Williams some bugs look better in the lime light, and center stage is actually quite forgiving. I know this guy is bad news but he's positioned himself so beautifully that I'll forgive him this bud.

Always take a closer look

Shy or guilty?

Gooseberry Bug.

Some of my visitors have architectural ambitions above their stations in life.




I think the Estate Agent Ad said something like this...

Free Sectional Title:

• Open plan, Indoor/Outdoor living.
• Feel a part of nature!
• Plot, no plan, customise as you like.

The good doctor & other interesting things

I live my country & country garden life vicariously through the Country Life magazine, they have some great plant features. Bush Medicine by Heather Dugmore and Julia Lloyd on Herbs being two of them. In the November issue Julia wrote a great article on the virtues of Yarrow as an anti-bug plant for the organic garden. (By now you all know that this is like gadgets to a man for me.)

Yarrow

"It has a strange pungent (love that word) smell

that many pests can't bear (love that even more),

but ladybugs and wasps love and that means an

end to aphids" and the crowd goes wild..

There was also an article on the marsh rose 'Rose from the dead.' A species of protea that has twice been declared extinct, and is only found in two small areas in the mountains above Betty's Bay and Hermanus. Just look at it! Oh my, the Cape Floral Kingdom is quite something.

'Marsh Rose'

I'm off to buy some Yarrow and the next issue.

P.S. The beautiful pics are also courtesy South African Country Life.

Murder most foul & other happy endings

There, I have finally given in, and opened a beergarden (beertraps in nasty laymens terms) for the snails. With, I have to shay, rather astounding results. These shlimy charactersh have held me to ranshom for faar to long, ash, I am infact, rathersh fond of them individually. But I'sh drawsh the line heresh, I mean here.

Sam's Ghost

My husband kindly donated all the leftover brands from numerous bring and braais and I'm not sure how long that frame of mind is going to last.

I love bugs, I hate bugs

I love bugs. I always have. They are often really beautiful ~ in a weird StarWars way. They have amazing colours and shapes. They have six arms/legs to do more things with ~ every mothers dream. Then there's the whole Girl Power thing, Hannibal Lector has nothing on some of these dames. Some of them can even multiply without doing the dirty, now that is weird and not neccesarily desirable.

I really only have one complaint. I've never met a skinny anorexic Kate Moss version. DO THEY HAVE TO EAT AND THEN SO MUCH?! I really hate that.

What got me going in the first place? This great article by Lambert Smith from Insecta on the little suckers to your left. I found it on Gardening in South Africa. But methinks I'm one step ahead. This weekend after burying the bananas I planted Pennyroyal under my roses. Apparently ants don't like it. So their aphid herding days are numbered!

A Match made in heaven

I have finally proven that going to the hairdresser is good for the garden.



Sitting there yesterday with my roots showing, I got to catch-up on all the hairdresser reads. And lo-and-behold in the latest edition of 'Your Family' I came across these useful tips for the green-fingered. Bury bananas under your rose bushes for a potassium kick and keep the snails away by tieing copper wire around your pots. Who knew. My search through 'Glamour' wasn't quite as useful.

Monday Blues?

Just remember there's always someone out there who is worse off.

Sex Sells

Or so they say, and I need someone to notice my predicament and come to the rescue.In the last week it's become clear to me that my garden is being eaten alive. So I went hunting for the culprits with my camera. Bug mugshots if you like. This is what I found.


Under every bush, behind every leaf they're all at it and judging by my garden it's not safe sex either. I'm compiling a hitlist as we speak. What I need help with is environmentally friendly ways to dissuade this kind of behaviour and the resultant rise in population.