Dear Dee and Mary Ann and Gardening Friends Everywhere,

Wasn’t Buffa10 just about the most fun you’ve had as a garden blogger?

I got home yesterday well before dark, just in time to see that a tomato hornworm had devoured most of a pepper plant. I’ve never had a hornworm eat a pepper plant, but I guess they do, especially if they want something a little spicier than a tomato plant. (Insert laughter here.)

Fortunately, this morning I found the hornworm on a nearby tomato plant – probably wanted something more mild for breakfast. (Insert laughter here.)

He (or she) then met with an untimely death.

Other gardeners have suggested I put the hornworms out in the open so birds can find them and eat them, rather than doing with them what I do with them, but this morning I just didn’t want to take my chances. I’ll spare you the details of how I, a mild-mannered grower of vegetables, did such a thing as clip off the branch where the hornworm was, fling it to the ground, cover it with dirt and stomp on it. The dirt helps to keep your shoes clean, by the way. Anyway, I won’t go over those details. (Insert evil laughter here.)

Then I saw that some critter has eaten off nearly an entire row of sunflowers, leaving just the tallest ones. Who eats sunflower plants? It’s not a trick question. The answer is… rabbits!! And here I thought they were gone.

And in my little grouping of container plantings under the honeylocust tree I saw that most likely a chipmunk devoured an entire double-flowering impatien. I’ll spare you a picture of the carnage. You can just imagine it. Nothing is left of the plant.

Well, bring on those chipmunks, rabbits, and hornworms. I’m feeling quite rested and re-invigorated after spending these past few days seeing so many inspiring gardens in Buffalo and rubbing elbows with so many other garden bloggers. Bring on those pests, both the six-legged and four-legged kind! I’m ready to take them down, one and all. My garden! I will defend it! (Insert raised fist here.)

Other than those issues, the garden got along okay without me. This morning I picked green beans and squash, including a great big ‘Cue Ball’ squash that had to be sacrificed to the compost bins due to its size. I also noted the first blush of red on the ‘Stupice’ tomato variety. It won’t be long now before I have some ripe tomatoes to brag about!

I swear I had the harvest in a basket to take a picture of it, like I usually do, but when I uploaded the pictures I took, this is the only one of the harvest.

(Insert picture here of my harvest trug sitting all by itself in the middle of the patio. I ran out of picture storage on Google/Picasa/Blogger! Can you imagine? But I bought more so I should be good to go tomorrow and will definitely be good to go for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day on the 15th… that’s this Thursday.)

(Wait, I tweeted that picture earlier so you can see it on on Twitter!)

(And here it is… )

It shows the relative size of the new patio. It is about 30 feet wide and 21 feet to the tip of the curved edge. I love it and am still amazed when I open the back door to step outside that it is my patio.

That’s pretty much it from my garden. I think now it is time for a nap, for me to close my eyes and strategize on how I will outwit the critters who want to eat in my garden before I do.

Carpe hortus!

Carol

P.S. I forgot to mention that I can see the silks on the little ears of corn. Hopefully, I won’t end up with raccoons in the garden trying to get to my corn before I do. I’ve got my hands full as it is with chipmunks, hornworms and rabbits. I don’t need raccoons, too.