image citation: Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.orgToday was spent weeding, puttering and moving this & that. A Mountain Laurel that has lingered on the edge of health is finally relocated to a shady grove where hopefully she'll fare better out of the full sun.
I also moved a monster hosta that was just about covering a specimen Dwarf Hinoki Cypress that I coveted for years and finally bought. The hosta was a beast! It must have weighed 50 pounds.
I checked in on my lupines which have been looking a little sad. They have been suffering from aphids. I am reluctant to use poisons so I was checking on line for a solution when the boyfriend jumped in with a few tips. Spray them off with water or just run you fingers down the stems to squish/knock the aphids off. Information on line confirmed that they will never find their way back onto the plant.... and I thought turkeys were stupid!
Running your hands down the stem is a mighty effective antidote.... but a little messy. My fingers turned green with smashed aphid innards, but it was a satisfying job to kill so many bugs so quickly. Whenever I start thinking that gardening is about sweetness and light a chore like this comes along to remind me of the Four Gardeners of the Apocolpyse - Bugs, Disease, Weeds & Drought. My fingers were goopy from aphids so I decided to squoosh a few Chafer Beetles too. They are easy to pick off as they don't have the inclination to interrupt their lovemaking to save their lives.
Well- time for dinner.... after I wash my hands.
