Of Noise and Nibbles...

The din of the cicadas is unbelievably loud these days. It's something you notice when it first starts in July, but then it becomes white noise--only noticed when it suddenly stops and starts back up as it does periodically. But when I open the door to let the dogs out, I'm shocked by the volume, and I have to push Phoebe, our golden retriever/lab mix, out the door. She hates loud noises, and this is not only deafening, it's weird. It can only be described as a huge chorus of tinny humming. Thank God the bugs only make noise and leave their empty molted carcasses hanging around; they're pretty harmless otherwise. Ryan likes to collect their remains in a gallon-size baggie each year to see how many he can find around our yard. Yuck!

I'm looking out my window at some of my container plantings and something--I think a chipmunk--is eating my gorgeous sweet potato vine, among other things. I love containers, but I'm going to think hard before deciding whether to plant them next spring. They take constant watering, and the critters apparently think they're a salad bowl. I had the sweet potato planted with a glow-in-the-dark red tuberous begonia and spotted dead nettle--glorious! Then last month I found the begonia broken off at the base and now the sweet potato is turning into a mass of vine and petioles--no leaves. Another container of velvety, dark purple Supertunias with lavendar verbena and Osteospermum 'Orange Symphony' was also ravaged by something digging. A good amount of dirt was tossed--along with the osteospermum. I tried to replant it, but it was a goner. Damn the varmints!

On the other hand, my nanho blue butterfly bush is a real success story. I got it on sale in mid-July and really thought there was no way it would survive the heat being planted so late in the season. Within two weeks of planting, it was covered with flower spikes, which have continued non-stop. Even now, with many of my plants looking exhausted, it looks fresh and lush! A definite keeper.

That's where I am in my gardenology--still experimenting and learning. And I'm realizing how individualized it all is, too. For example, books and articles say this climate is perfect for 'Butterfly Blue' pincushion flower and I know quite a few people who rave about it in their gardens. But I've given it two summers in two different locations and it's bailed on me both times. Life's too short to keep messing with what isn't working, so forget 'Butterfly Blue.' I'll replace it with something else that catches my eye and hope it takes.