The Gardeners Anonymous Blog

The Cavalry is Here

With spring comes flowers; and with flowers come beauty, fragrance, joy and…aphids.

Aphids have never really been a big problem in my yard because my garden is protected by soldiers. Yes, I support the troops, and these troops like to hang in my garden in the spring and dine on the soft bodies of those pesky aphids.

Ladybugs ain’t got nothin’ on Soldier Beetles. Soldier Beetles are the small beetles with the long thin orange bodies and the grey wings, and they eat almost as much as my teenagers.

So, in the springtime when I pass by plants covered in aphids, I have to stop myself from disturbing them. After all, I wouldn’t want take a meal from a soldier. 

No Cash For New Plants

 

Well, once again our family is in the midst of a cash flow crisis. Am I worried we may not have a roof over our heads? Food to eat? Gas for our cars so I can drive my kids to school? Maybe a little.

But the worst thing, the thing that eats away at me every morning when I hear the symphony of birds, smell the fresh spring air, and know that everything is sprouting and blooming …? This is my favorite time of year for planting and gardening. What bothers me most about our financial crisis?

Not having any money for plants! Wahhhhh!!!

What cheers me up? Perusing my garden, searching for annuals that made it thought the winter and seeing the plants that are already in my garden and already blooming. What a glorious time of year.