This is pretty much an accurate depiction of my entire garden right now: dense growth and teeming with insects (not just tomato hornworms)! Reptiles like to feast on these larvae but if you have a pet, do not feed it worms that you may find on your solanaceous plants! Remember, nightshades are poisonous. As they feed on these plants, toxins (perhaps solanin) build up in their little bodies, which could spell doom for your companion. I picked them off and placed them on some black nightshade plants in hopes that they would devour those weeds before the edible black berries drop and scatter their seeds.
I found one such caterpillar after noticing some scat nearby in my pepper container. Speaking of which, they are doing great compared to last year.
Not sure what they are... I thought I planted a yellow mushroom pepper with 2 fish peppers on either side. Maybe my seeds are a bit mixed up. Or maybe I planted a Jimmy Nardello pepper seed there.
Look at these meaty tomatoes! They were supposed to be sun gold I think. (Can you tell I didn't draw a record of the garden layout this year?) These seeds might have been mislabeled as well. We'll see what we get. Mystery tomato! At my old horticulture job (sort of glad I don't have to work outdoors this year) they mercilessly pull volunteer tomatoes where they stand. Luckily for the plants, I am a bit more curious. I also let many wild tinguaraque tomatoes grow feral from the tiny fruits that dropped last year, which is the main reason the garden looks overgrown. That was well as the kidney beans and raspberries growing over the path.
In the alley, just outside our gate, a swarm of tomatoes sprouted, which of course I spared and let do their thing. (This is the spot last year where a random acorn squash sprouted.) At first I thought they were tinguaraques, which makes the most sense. Birds eating them and depositing the seeds over that pile of grass I keep dumping there (I hate to throw lawn clippings in the trash). However, they look to be sun gold or something similar. How? I only planted 2 (as it turns out just 1 actually).
My uncle stopped by the other day and I told him that and his explanation was that obviously squirrels had transplanted my seeds. But how does one sun gold tomato seed from my yard, which did in fact sprout in its place, also magically turn into 15 more or in the alley? Well the answer might be a little magical.
But wait! I'm not done ranting! This is the same man who misidentifies racoons as skunks. He claims he's seen them in our neighborhood woods. WRONG. There are no skunks here. You have to go further down, near Lansing. Then you start to see skunks. That's where I found the roadkilled one that I skinned (ketchup and potatoes gets the stench off [mostly]).
So who do I think planted the seeds?
That's right, the clan of gnomes that live beneath my garden are responsible. This is the newest statue I got. Just because it has a red cap it costed more than the others but I really liked this one so I didn't mind. You can see the little offerings I leave including beads, stones, and sometimes pastries. I even added a large piece of jet (which moves) and a tiny spade and pail so he can do his work.
Next year I plan to incorporate more wildflowers and bee/butterfly favorites to attract the like. This will in turn attract birds. All of this will then attract more fey like pixies, which gnomes are fond of.
A few weeks back I learned it's still not too late to plant Japanese melons, and that's exactly what these are. They are kajari melons. I planted some when I was in the fatherland but left before they were ready. My young uncle relayed me some photos though, so they will look something like this.
Want to see some volunteer sunflowers?
I love seeing these on sides of the roads.
And now for some more resident insects!
Here is a poor paper wasp with a damaged wing, stranded on the apex of my ground cherry forest. The plant had hundreds of flowers but no fruit setting. Sounds like a pollinator problem, which concerns me. I think at least a few of them got fertilized though. Hopefully.
I believe this is a type of robber fly, a predatory species of fly. It lies in wait on my laurel which I moved outdoors to deal with the heavy infestation of mealybugs it was suffering from.
I have no clue what kind of fly this is resting on some raspberry foliage but I'm getting predator vibes.
This mystery red beetle was hanging around in the same area for a few days.
Goji berry production is still in full swing. I believe the main pollinators of the tiny, charming flowers are the odorous house ants (Tapinoma sessile) of which you can see one.
After the second year, my blackberry lilies finally bloomed. I brought them from my old workplace specifically for my mom. Now that she has seen the blooms, she loves them! Now that they are approved, they might be moved or maybe just new seeds will be planted in a permanent spot in the ground as opposed to the pot they are sharing with the hostas.
Do you like my indoor garden in the bathroom? This is what every flat surface near a window looks like in my home.
I'm very excited that the moss I transplanted into my citrus bonsai is spreading! (Gnomes are fond of moss and ferns!) It almost looks like a professional bonsai! I can't wait until it forms one mat of luscious green non-vascular moss.
I feel bad that I accidentally stomped on this Lasius neoniger ant hill. I had been deliberately avoiding it every time I passed by. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like this anymore.
And with that I leave you. Hopefully, I have time to publish another article admit this beautiful garden I visited recently.
Oops, forgot to include a garden selfie. I do have this old picture of me though...
