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Barbie's garden Bugs & Pests Gardening Home page features Miscellaneous

Bugs Galore

Springtime spender brings more than the beautiful flowers and great edibles!! It brings the hungry critters that devour those same Spring essentials! They must have all arrived on the same bus, because my garden is full of them!!

A fruit beetle in the Tea Tree

This fly is interesting – what is this?? He seems to be devouring a house fly!! It looks like he is a predator. Perhaps a good thing?

My beautiful Borage flowers always bring the bees!! I make sure they are all over the garden. This one is under my peach tree!

My roses are under attack!! The aphids are having a glorious time !! I am waiting for the lady bugs to come and clean up !! So no pesticide spraying in my garden!

What kind of fly is this in a bee costume!!?? Or a bee in a fly costume!??

More and more aphids! These are black and only under the leaves of my Artemesia Powis Castle! Very interesting. I use them in a tea as a bug repellent!

Here is that weird fly again – can anyone put a name to this?

Now this is the strangest – tons of blue flies all over my Tea Tree flowers! Drunk on the nectar!

I have come to respect all those critters and flying visitors to my garden. If there were no aphids, I would never see a lady bug. So all I need to do is patiently wait for the good bugs to arrive! Garden spiders, frogs and lizards are also gathering to feast on the bugaboos. My birds are always happy to help clean up as well. The sugar bird also helps when the button spider population is over growing!  Every little creature is necessary in the big scheme of things – so as nature intended it to be!! Who are we to interfere!

Happy bugging (and gardening) xxxx

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Annuals Barbie's garden Bugs & Pests Gardening Home page features

What’s Hot and What’s Not

At every turn, you can find a gem of a flower or you can hit a gremlin!! Today was my day! I stuck my head out on this cold day and to my surprise found lots to photograph! So my post today was suitably named “What’s Hot and What’s Not!” Let me show you what I found …..

WHAT’S HOT: Lemon season!! Love them for salad dressing and for Lemon Cordial!

[one_half]WHAT’S HOT: Lots of lemon blossoms!![/one_half]

[one_half_last]WHAT’S NOT: Lemon tree leaves are yellow![/one_half_last]

WHAT’S HOT: MY first peas are coming out!! I have sweet peas and mange tout!

[one_half]WHAT’S HOT: Beautiful Spinach[/one_half]

[one_half_last]WHAT’S HOT: Delicious Broccoli[/one_half_last]

[one_half]WHAT’S HOT: More peas – mange tout![/one_half]

[one_half_last]WHAT’S HOT: My first potato!![/one_half_last]

WHAT’S NOT: Argh!!! Ahipds!! Tons of them! They seem to be just sitting on my Artemesia! I thought that this plant was a pest repellant! Perhaps it is acting as a trap crop – is this possible??

[one_half]WHAT’S HOT: Blue berry blossoms![/one_half]

[one_half_last]WHAT’S HOT: Borage about to bloom.Growing wild![/one_half_last]

[one_half]WHAT’S HOT: Almond blossom! This year a crop?[/one_half]

[one_half_last]WHAT’S HOT: Bees!!![/one_half_last]

[one_half]WHAT’S HOT: More blossoms with a lil’ visitor![/one_half]

[one_half_last]WHAT’S HOT:More bees!![/one_half_last]

[one_half]WHAT’S HOT:Love my lavender! Bee friendly![/one_half]

[one_half_last]WHAT’S HOT: Calendula-great medicinal flower![/one_half_last]

WHAT’S HOT: My JoJo Tanks are FULL!! So I am happy that I have enough for my summer!!

[one_half]WHAT’S NOT: Totally overgrown! Needs a trim![/one_half]

[one_half_last]WHAT’S NOT: My Leopard Tree is not looking its best![/one_half_last]

So my garden is as active as ever before. So much happening! Love to see the bees!!

PLANT A BEE-FRIENDLY PLANT THIS SPRING!

Happy Gardening xxx

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Barbie's garden Bugs & Pests Gardening Perenniels

Gutter Garden

I have heard the saying, “Weeds are flowers that don’t know that they have to grow in a row”. Well, I have found a new respect for this common plant – my new name for a weed.

The Dictionary defines a weed: weed |wiːd|noun: “a wild plant growing where it is not wanted and in competition with cultivated plants.” Well, that is not always true. I have a place for “weeds” in my garden and they are very much wanted. Nettles is one common plant that I use often to make teas and green fertiliser. Plantain is a very, very nutritious common plant and has yet to reveal its many benefits.  Thistle and Dandelion are used in herbal medicine and bring the bees.Weeds bring nutrition back to the soil when we have stripped it from natural minerals. Some have deep roots so they can take up the minerals deep from within the soil, bringing it to the surface. Some have shallow roots and keep the soil from eroding. You will see them work their wonders when you look at road works – the bare ground will quickly form a carpet of green and these are weeds starting their magic! If we take care and learn about Mother Nature, she has a purpose for these hard workers, and I hope we will treat these common plants with much more dignity and respect.

Well, we forget that they don’t need us – they grow anywhere, they are able to find nutrition from any waste area.

The Sow-Thistle is a well-known weed in every field and garden. It is a perennial, growing from 1 to 3 feet high, with hollow thick, branched stems full of milky juice, and thin, oblong leaves, more or less cut into (pinnatifid) with irregular, prickly teeth on the margins. The upper leaves are much simpler in form than the lower ones, clasping the stem at their bases.

Habitat: Spiny Sow Thistle propagates from re-seeding. It grows in many waste places, accepts various soils, most to slightly dry conditions, but needs full sun. Sow thistles got their name because they were fed to lactating pigs. They love them, as do rabbits which is why they are sometimes called Hare Thistles.

What weeds do you see often?? What benefit can you think of??

Happy gardening xxxx

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Essence of my Winter Garden

I love the softness and the coolness of a winter garden. After a harsh summer, it is a pleasure to see so much green. The mist envelopes the mornings and everything looks magical – the spiders webs look like jewellery. I hope you enjoy the walk through my June garden……..

Lets see whats happening in the front garden

[one_half]The front grass bed[/one_half]

[one_half_last]The front of the house[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Chasmanthas in my raised bed[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Raised beds very textured[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Cleaned rose bed[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Overworked wheel barrow[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Grasses with spider jewellery[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Tanks filling up[/one_half_last]

My beautiful Leopard Tree!

[one_half]My Artemesia – Powis Castle[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Such a fragrant and beautiful bush![/one_half_last]

[one_half]Always a bucket to catch more rain water[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Always fun things welcoming you to the garden[/one_half_last]

Lets see whats growing in the winter veggie garden

[one_half]Tamsin’s (my grand-daughter) Garden Peas[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Red Butter Lettuce! A new variety![/one_half_last]

[one_half]Italian flat and curly parsley-snail deterrent[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Broccoli with chives-companion plants[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Kale-well used in all green juices![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Thyme-natural bug repellent near brassicas[/one_half_last]

[one_half]A flourishing Yellow plum tomato[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Self-seeded tomato-clay pot for frogs[/one_half_last]

Another home in the Grenadilla Vines – a spider?? It looks like she strung up glass beads around her front door! Nice styling there!!

The old chicken coup is now a garden shed!

What’s happening in the back garden??

[one_half]Winter colours setting in[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Quince tree turning golden[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Back deck is well lived on[/one_half]

[one_half_last]New cosy couches to relax on[/one_half_last]

[one_half]New seedlings for the veggie garden[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Summer deck not in use![/one_half_last]

[one_half]Pepper Tree hanging over[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Coup area still a feature-sans chickens[/one_half_last]

Thanks for taking a walk with me around my garden………

Happy gardening xxx

 

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Barbie's garden Bugs & Pests Gardening Home page features

December 2014 Diaries

So much happens in life! When I look at my To-Do list, my heart skips a beat! How can the time fly so quickly??? 2014 has gone! December is a memory and in-between life happening, my garden just keeps on going!! I have the pleasure of spending alot of time there now because I make the time. Growing vegetables has become a real passion and we love eating from the garden. I am a SuperJuicer now (ask me and I will tell you!) so growing organic fruits and vegetables is a big deal now to add to my juices! Anyway, I’m rambling…….

Here is my December Diaries 2014……

Front garden …..

[one_half]Gaura -whirling butterflies[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Artemesia – wilde als in pots[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Roses in full bloom[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Sunflower about to burst[/one_half_last]

[one_third][/one_third]

[one_third][/one_third]

[one_third_last][/one_third_last]

Zucchini and sunflower with colourful chillies in the middle

Vegetable garden …..

[one_half]Zucchini in bloom[/one_half]

[one_half_last]All sorts of lettuces-so tender[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Basil and chives are neighbours[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Roma tomatoes now in abundance[/one_half_last]

[one_third][/one_third]

[one_third][/one_third]

[one_third_last][/one_third_last]

A new eggplant, tomatoes galore and an arch of Passion fruit

[one_half]Chives sweet flower[/one_half]

[one_half_last]My white Louisiana Iris[/one_half_last]

[one_half]Kale – for juicing![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Lettuces need shelter from the heat[/one_half_last]

[one_third][/one_third]

[one_third][/one_third]

[one_third_last][/one_third_last]

Raised bed with mexican petunia, beautiful Leopard Tree and who is that!!?

Who is also eating from my vegetable patch……..

[one_half]This beetle is a real nasty![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Ah! Ya caught me![/one_half_last]

[one_half]Shade from the heat of the day[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Lazy mozzies![/one_half_last]

[one_third][/one_third]

[one_third][/one_third]

[one_third_last][/one_third_last]

Beautiful Iris growing under the Passion Fruit – what a great end of the day!

Happy Gardening xxxx

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Barbie's garden Bugs & Pests Gardening Home page features Miscellaneous

Badboy bugs

This last season I hardly had any problems with beetles, bugs, caterpillars and aphids in my garden. The ones that did come by uninvited, they didn’t leave too much damage – almost as if they were being polite. The aphids were devoured by ladybugs and the caterpillars were hand-picked and “placed” elsewhere (the chickens don’t like the furry, colourful squigglies)

But these little nasties destroyed my rocket OVERNIGHT!! My sweet rocket and wild rocket (arugula) were both targeted. They are so tiny I could not see them with my naked eye. Taking a macro shot of them and – WOW!! They are beetles! I was convinced they were black aphids.

Does anyone know what these are!!???

[one_half]Look at the damage!![/one_half]

[one_half_last]Millions of holes![/one_half_last]

 

I hope someone can help!! I thought that no insect likes rocket because of the pungent smell. I am sorry to have lost my last rocket bush!

I hope you all have a great gardening week!!

 

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Annuals Barbie's garden Bugs & Pests Gardening Home page features Miscellaneous

What’s eating my parsley?

Hello my gardening friends! I need your help with something. I just don’t know what is eating my parsley!! I have looked for insects and have looked for caterpillars and I don’t think it is a fungal infection. It is definitely a biting insect! HELP!! I am losing both my parsley bushes and they take so long to grow.

Look at the stalk of the parsley – it is being chewed!

[one_half]There are small holes and yellow spots[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Every leaf is affected[/one_half_last]

If this bush is so damaged, surely I should be able to see what is eating it? Or could it be a night-time nastie??

I would really appreciate your help on this – I just don’t want to spray without knowing what I am treating!!

Thanks my gardening friends xxxxx

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Barbie's garden Bugs & Pests Gardening Home page features Miscellaneous

Scary Centipede

I had to post this photo my sister took of a huge centipede she found. Oh My Word!! It has a long tail and this one was about 10cm long without the tail. The legs, for me, are the creepy part! I get goosebumps just looking at it!

Centipedes

Centipedes (from Latin prefix centi-, “hundred”, and pes, pedere, “foot”) are arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda of the subphylum Myriapoda. They are elongated metameric animals with one pair of legs per body segment. Despite the name, centipedes can have a varying number of legs from under 20 to over 300. Centipedes have an odd number of pairs of legs, e.g. 15 or 17 pairs of legs (30 or 34 legs) but never 16 pairs (32 legs).

A key trait uniting this group is a pair of venom claws or forcipules formed from a modified first appendage. Centipedes are predominantly carnivorous.

Centipedes normally have a drab coloration combining shades of brown and red. Cave-dwelling and subterranean species may lack pigmentation and many tropical ones have bright colours. Size can range from a few millimetres to about 30cm. Centipedes can be found in a wide variety of environments. Worldwide, there are estimated to be 8,000 species of centipede, of which 3,000 have been described.

Centipedes have a wide geographical range, reaching beyond the Arctic Circle. Centipedes are found in an array of terrestrial habitats from tropical rainforests to deserts. Within these habitats, centipedes require a moist micro-habitat because they lack the waxy cuticle of insects and arachnids, and so lose water rapidly through the skin.

Accordingly, they are found in soil and leaf litter, under stones and dead wood, and inside logs. Centipedes are among the largest terrestrial invertebrate predators and often contribute significantly to the invertebrate predatory biomass in terrestrial ecosystems.

Some species of centipede can be hazardous to humans because of their bite. Although a bite to an adult human is usually very painful and may cause severe swelling, chills, fever, and weakness, it is unlikely to be fatal. Bites can be dangerous to small children and those with allergies to bee stings. The bite of larger centipedes can induce anaphylactic shock in such people. Smaller centipedes usually do not puncture human skin. Even nonvenomous centipedes are considered frightening by humans due to their dozens of legs moving at the same time and their tendency to dart swiftly out of the darkness towards one’s feet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centipede

Anything creepy in your garden?

 

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Bugs & Pests Christine's garden Gardening Home page features

Mole control

Tired of moles digging up your garden? Fed up with voles burrowing up your plants? Then you’ve probably tried all types of remedies that range from the moderately useful to totally useless – in the form of pellets, solar mole repellers, camphor blocks, garlic cloves … and still the moles return.

I’ve given up with trying to control or get rid of them. Nothing I’ve tried has worked. Until …

The best mole deterrent I’ve had so far …

On Mole Control

Unfortunately said “mole controller” does a fair amount of damage in her eagerness to get the job done …

Mole Control

Mole Control

But it works!!

I have no idea what happened to the mole, but there were no new mole-piles this morning so it seems her two hour barking and digging session paid off.

What have you found to be effective against moles?

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Barbie's garden Bugs & Pests Gardening Home page features

Bugs galore

Not only is my garden overgrowing, the good, the bad and the ugly have also arrived! The bugs are having a party in the veggie patch and the rose bushes, but the army of ladybugs have taken control. I have left the aphids alone in the Artemesia – Powis Castle. I think it acts as a trap for them as they seem to do no harm to the bush. Within a week the ladybugs and the larvae have devoured them – the good and the ugly. This is the first time I have really seen the beneficial bugs taking over.

Have a look whats crawling in my garden …. the good ….

The ugly – Newborn larvae look sort of like tiny alligators. After only a few days, the larvae will be large enough to begin to molt (shed their skin), and they keep molting for as long as they are growing. You can find the molted skins on leaves if you look very hard. Here you can see the larvae and the pupa it came out of. They are voracious eaters, I believe. Looks like mommy ladybug has chosen the perfect bush – tons of aphids.

On the roses too.

The Aphids -they are the bad …..

What bugs are in your garden – friend or foe?

Happy Gardening xxxxxx