Sunday, June 03, 2007

I'm Going to Chuck Some Wood Alright!

Starflower???I don't remember the name of this little beauty if, indeed, I ever knew it. It starts out as a small green pine cone-like bud and then flowers into this blue star burst with feather-like petals. It is really quite lovely and I had at least twenty in one area of the yard.

You will notice the use of the past tense. I came out to do the morning inspection yesterday and found:
Sheared at the stem
One single bud was left and there may be one struggling to break out. All the other stems had been sheared off. The same thing had happened to my Butterfly flower by the side of the house.

And the cause would be:
Furry Little Bastard
Furry Little Bastard MunchingThis well-fed, furry little bastard is one of two groundhogs (woodchucks) we have sharing our backyard. One lives under the shed and the other under the deck. Up to now we have all cohabited without major incident - though there has been the odd territorial squabble within the rodent community. This is the first time they have ever inflicted any sort of damage on the garden. The lawn is over-planted with clover - a great alternative to grass and grub-resistant (you're gardening tip for today)- and I thought they were happy munching that.

Now comes the question: What to do about the little buggers?

3 comments:

BigAssBelle said...

oh that EVIL little bastard! how dare he eat your perennial bachelor's buttons (centaurea montana)?? that's one of my favorite flowers.

i'd shoot him. blast that little sucker away as soon as he peeks his head out, shameless little wretch.

actually, i'd get one of those have-a-heart traps and trap him, drive him out into the country. it would give 5-7 days peace before he makes it back to munch some more.

all of our pests are microscopic: spider mites, aphids. deadly, but at least we can't see them. on the other hand, bullets won't help.

shoot him if you can, it's the only solution. he's awfully cute, though. he'd be cuter if he weren't munching your precious buds.

Anonymous said...

I would bait up a nice cage trap and capture his little ass (and his friend too). Ship off to a national forest somewhere, and be rid of him without any Karmic debt to pay off. Violence begets violence...

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the pictures of the garden, a nice memory.