Friday, August 22, 2014

life in the garden

 Tomatillo flower!

 The first baby melon!


Crikey, look at the armor on that thistle!

This is the first thistle I've ever seen here,
and I've been watching it grow with a sort of horrified fascination.
It's massive now. Taller than me.
And it is beginning to go to seed because
every time I gear up to tackle removing it...

...I find a butterfly or a bee reveling in the flowers.

So I decide to wait another day or two.

If I have thousands of thistles next year,
it will be entirely My Own Fault.

Even the goats did not tackle this plant,
and who can blame them?



Yeah! Who can blame us?

~~~~~

6 comments:

  1. Ha-ha! It sure has gotten big. Perhaps just cutting back the portions that aren't flowering. My husband has been eating a lot of cactus fruit lately which has thorns and requires gloves. H'es actually choosing to deal with the thorns. Give me a peach or a pear any day. :) Best wishes, Tammy

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    Replies
    1. Wearing gloves to eat fruit would seem like a lot of work to me, too, Tammy! Must be super-delicious?

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  2. LOL!
    Thistles may have an awful pinch, but they are beautiful as well as a symbol of Scotland. Think of your garden as being International with a historical flare complete with goat consultants. Thistle and goats would make a neat logo.

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    Replies
    1. They are a stunning plant and the flowers are a beautiful color....but I've just learned I prefer to appreciate thistles from afar ;)

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  3. Oh, crap - maybe throw a big plastic bag over the heads of that thistle, before it goes to seed!!! Did you find out what the bug was? XOXO

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not yet on the bug, and funny you should say that about bagging the flowers, as it was exactly what I came up with as a Plan! Then I looked down at my big bag and looked up at that thistle...and went for my pole pruner. Took about 40 minutes, but I removed the entire shrub and all its sideshoots, piece by piece, only getting stabbed about 8 times despite being extremely cautious. Done!

      Delete

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