It’s June! Creepy Crawlers and How Does Your Garden Grow?
Last weekend I went outside with the intention of doing a little gardening and came back inside a relatively short time later to compose this essay that I posted on facebook that many of you have already seen:
Gardening. By Deborah Barnes.
Begin gardening. Spot worm. Stop gardening.
The End.
Since it is now June 1st, this got me to thinking about gardening in a larger sense, because when I used to live up North (upstate New York), I loved this time of year because I knew many of my favorite summer flowers would be in bloom like black eyed susan’s, daisies, lilacs, peonies, irises, and roses .
Seeing forever fields, endless with carefree daisies was a common sight for me up North and it is one of the simple pleasures of life that I miss here in Florida. We do have gorgeous flowers year round, but nothing compares to the simplicity of a field abound with a profusion of wild flowers.
Up North there are A LOT of worms and despite my obsessive avoidance of them, I managed to garden around them because I knew they provided vital nutrients for the soil and kept it tilled so that my plants would be happy and healthy. I enjoy gardening very much and I am the kind of person who likes to get “down and dirty” and feel the soil on my hands. Gloves make me claustrophobic, so I just did my best to maintain a respectful distance from these slimy, wiggly creatures. If I saw one, I would back away for a minute until they rooted back into the ground and would continue with my puttering around without too much drama, other than maybe an occasional quiet scream or two. Heaven help me, however, if I accidentally touched one, as I think I would have fainted. But, despite my aversion to them, I realize they do have a useful place on this earth and I wish them no harm. It’s just that I have a deep seated fear of them and I honestly have no idea why, other than I cannot look at them, touch them, or think about them without mentally freaking out.
Nope. Even in cartoon format with a cute smile, worms still give me the heebie-jeebies!
Anyhow, in celebration of June and to apologize to worms, I thought I would share some of my favorite pictures that I have collected over the years of gardening and yard work here in Florida. But before I go, how about you? Any deep rooted fears for the creepy crawlers or anything else that you’d like to share? And here’s an interesting thought – my cats have seen lizards, birds, squirrels, possums, neighborhood cats, and lots of bugs – but never a worm. I wonder how they would react? Have your cats ever seen a worm?
This is an actual photo of the the amount of tree, plant, and hedge refuse collected by Dan and I at the end of a typical weekend when we do extensive yard work. I think that pretty much clears up the difference between light and relaxing gardening versus hard and stressful yard work.
Here is just a small sampling of what we have to deal with from our shedding trees and bamboo.
Rolz takes it upon himself to find out if there is anything under the tiki that we need to deal with before we bag up the last of the clippings.
Once the backyard is fully raked, pruned, and trimmed, it really is a tropical paradise. If only we wern’t so exhausted after it all so that we could enjoy it more!
This tropical beauty happens to be one of my garden favorites, and not just because it is called “Cat Whiskers!”
Zee doing a final snoopervising check of the grounds. Did we miss anything, Zee?
Little Mia always has a wide eyed expression, but outside her senses are on high alert, making her expression all the more evident.
M says she shares your fear of worms. Quite often in the summer, right after a rainstorm, night crawlers will wiggle all over our driveway or patio. M refuses to go even outside until D cleans them up. he he – she’s a big chicken. Your gardens sure are gorgeous. M said she had forgotten how gardens in Fla looked so much like a jungle. I’ll bet your gardens are fun to hunt in.
Oh my goodness, mariodacat, don’t even get me started on the worms on the pavement. I remember that only too well and now fear I will have nightmares dreaming about that tonight!! I’m with your M on that one!! And yes, the gardens are lots of fun for the kitties to hunt in!
We have lots of worms here but we never get to play with them!
But Brian, have you ever even seen one? Our human has never let us even see one…
Just be glad it was worms and not snakes. Your yard is very pretty and colorful. Have a terrific week end.
Marg… uggg… snakes… that would be another post altogether!!
I hate any kind of bugs, worms,etc. Luckily if I can wear gloves I am ok. Your gardens are beautiful.
Sue – when we do the heavy yard work, I have no choice but to wear gloves and I just do my best to grin and bear it! But I really hate the feeling of gloves… they suffocate my hands!
I don’t pay any attention to worms but I know my ma loves them. She will gather a bunch of them up and hand feed them to her fishies. Ma’s problem is ants. She hates ants and since ants know this , they make a point of making a huge nest under the rocks, paths, anywhere they know that she can find them and do the icky ant dance.
Your yard is so beautiful! Ma was in wow when she seen it. She even showed it to dad and said “wouldn’t you love to walk down that path? ” He nodded his head yes. Ma reminded him that if they ever moved to Florida, he wouldn’t have to pull his back out getting our huge tropical trees in every fall. He just says “someday”
I love your photos of your kitties in the garden , they are lucky to have a tropical garden to explore.
Have a pawtastic day!
Oh Carma – your human really is quite brave… she loves worms?!!!!!!! Wow…. I am in awe! Ants don’t bother me, they are just annoying, but it does seem rude that the ants where you live are deliberately plotting to provoke your Ma!!
I love all the photos in this post. Your garden looks beautiful! I wish I could develop my garden just like that. My garden is simple and I usually plant veggies with a little bit of flowering plants. Anyway, worms are good indication. I always find plenty of worms in my garden. 😀
Kelly – I am glad you enjoyed the photos! I love vegetable gardens too and really miss having one. Worms really do help with the growth process even though they are icky!
Your garden is glorious and that Cat’s Whiskers plant is incredible. I have never seen anything like it here in VA. We have tons and tons of worms, and they don’t bother me. My grandpa grew worms for fishing in two old barrels in his backyard when I was growing up. What I do hate is cutting one in half with my shuffle. The other thing I hate are these huge slugs I encounter sometimes. I could run screaming, but usually I just crush them with a rock while wincing and praying it does touch me. Have a great weekend. Super hot here as well. Your friend, Janet IF YOU TRIED TO COMMENT ON OUR POST “PAYBACK FOILDED” AND COULDN’T DUE TO THE CAPTCHA CODE, I HAVE REMOVED THE CAPTCHA REQUIREMENT.!
Kitties Blue – UGGGGGGGGGGG….. snails and slugs……… I forgot how much those give me the heebie jeebies too!! Yikes…. I really am going to have nightmares tonight!
Your garden is beautiful! I envy people with gardens like yours, but I can also appreciate the incredible amount of work that goes into it. I have no talent whatsoever when it comes to growing things, and I really don’t enjoy yard work, so my yard is very low maintenance – translation: lawn and trees and shrubs…
Ingrid – in Florida because the weather is always warm, the plants start to take on a life of their own and sometimes the real secret of gardening is to let nature do its own thing! But yes, it is an incredible amount of work!
What a gorgeous garden! When my son sees a worm he puts it in dirt. Living where we do , our cats never see worms, but their nosy little dears and would have to touch it if ever one got in the house. Never going to happen!
My sons pretty brave except when it comes to any kind of spiders, then he shreaks like a girl. I can sat that cause he won’t see this.
Mine is Grasshoppers’, from a childhood incident involving emptying green oats from a,wagon in shorts and being
COVERED in grasshoppers’. They had to take me inside! No more shorts either.
Hazel… if a worm ever got into our house, I would have to instantly move!! Oh dear, no more shorts… that was a traumatizing experience for you!
Deb, your “yard” looks like paradise to me!! You obviously work so hard on it! My biggest fear along those lines are spiders with big bodies and hairy legs! Worms are not such a problem. I caught Austin one day looking fascinatedly at a couple of worms who were intent on digging up the flower border. I know he was totally flummoxed!
That’s interesting, CATachresis. I am not afraid of spiders, but then again, I’m not going to volunteer to touch one either!! I can just picture Austin looking flummoxed!
*sighhhh* Your entire backyard is ever so much better than a catio! It is a kitty’s paradise too!
The kitties really do love the backyard, Maxwell, Faraday, and Allie… but then again, they don’t have to do the yard work!
Your backyard is EXQUISITE!! You should charge a fee for tours 🙂
Ok this won’t surprise you but when I was a kid (about 8 yrs old) there was a boy named Peter who was TERRIFIED of worms…remember how kids used to walk home at lunch time? When it rained I used to chase him swinging a big fat juicy worm in the wind, right by his face. Ohhhh yesssssss I did!! He was such a baby 🙂
Worms don’t bother me because I also used to go fishing with my Dad and was used to baiting my own hooks with worms and minnows……now snakes? That’s a totally different story! I am TERRIFIED of them!
OMG Caren!!!!!!!!!! That poor boy… but yes he was a baby!! LOL!! I used to go fishing all the time too, but I either had someone bait my hook, or better yet, I used a fake lure… As far as snakes, well, let’s just all walk away as quickly as possible!!
The mom has an aversion to spiders. If she sees one, she calls us to come dispose of it! And we don’t mind doing that at all!
pee ess. your yard is beautiful!
WOW! That yard *IS* a tropical paradise! Even if you’re exhausted, it looks like the kitties are enjoying it to the MAX!
P.S. I am an indoor kitty so I have never seen a worm. I bet they’re delishus though.
Wow, that’s gorgeous garden. I had no idea it was so much maintenance. We have over an acre and the lawn people come once a week and I do some work but leave it pretty wild.
Your garden is lovely! Where do you find the time?
Wow! You are living in paradise, aren’t you? Your garden is wonderfully beautiful!
My human cannot stand spiders. Big or small, she just cannot. Two weeks ago she found one alive in a raspberry she was about to eat. Cat, it was funny!
Purrs
Deb, if my sister is around, we have to spell w-o-r-m and s-n-a-k-e. Yes, my cats have seen worms, and if I ever post photos of the ones in my garden, which I intend to someday when I talk about composting and organic gardening, it will come with a Deb Warning. And you can keep your supersized insects in your yard!
I just cleaned up the main part of my yard where my neighbor’s 70-foot maple had fallen, lots of branches and leaf litter and broken shrubs that needed to be trimmed and reahabbed, and plants that needed to be transplanted. I still have another session with this sometime soon. Mimi inspected everything I’d done yesterday.
I love the May and June wildflowers of the northeastern US too, and here’s a link to several slideshows I’ve put together from my backyard and walks on the trails: http://www.bernadette-k.com/photography/photo-panhandlemay.html.
Happy Gardening!
P.S. But I’d love to be able to grow the Cat’s Whiskers up here! And of course, up here we only see a yard like yours when we visit a flower conservatory, which is what your yard looks like! You need a Chihuly sculpture somewhere in there!
The Cat’s Whiskers are definitely a tropical flower and they are not always so easy to find, Bernadette. We actually do have a few sculptures – my favorite is the one we have of the girl from the garden of good and evil.
Your garden is beautiful! I don’t mind worms but Flynn loves them. When I am digging in the garden he is always there watching, and if I turn one up in the soil he grabs it and takes it on the grass to play. Sometimes when I go back indoors I find pieces of chewed worm flung around the floor.
Gasp!!!!!!!!!!! I think I would go into cardiac arrest if I found pieces of chewed up worm flung on the floor, Flynn!!!!!!!!!