Ants and Plants

Oh my goodness, has it really been 2 months since I posted!! Well I guess you are due for an update then!

These last few months in our new home has made me somewhat reflective of high school literature. Thoughts of Mrs. Danchura's class and an epic tale of Leiningen vs. the Ants. A classic short story, Nature vs. Man type...a man warning a plantation owner of the impending doom headed his way....10 miles length by 2 miles width....fire ants. "They could eat a buffalo clean through the bones before you could spit 3 times". Okay, so i'm not dealing with fire ants here, and not one of my children or neighbours (not even the dog) have been skeletonized... but there remains here a constant battle against one of nature's strongest and most diligent bugs. I honestly believe they built our home on a giant ant hill. See for yourself... my kitchen sink window sill.

Ay! This is not like Winnipeg; where you only see ants indoors after a kool-aid, orange juice type spill that you've neglected to spot clean off the kitchen floor. Or after the kids have left their sticky popsicle stick collection piling up in the corner of their bedroom. I speak from experience. The tell-tale trail of ants just gets my blood boiling. It's a trumpet call to war...and the fight is on!

This is a corner of my kitchen above the counter. That small triangular piece at the bottom is part of my kitchen counter. I woke up one morning to this infestation...this violation....this vandalism. Screams could be heard that day and the rest of the week as I struggled to maintain control of these puny pests. I spray the exterior of the house over and over and leave out little Terro traps which includes a nectar that the ants devour and return to the nest. It's supposed to kill the nest including the Queen. I lay the ant traps and in true "Bug's Life" form I chant...."They come, they eat, they leave. They come they eat they leave". Over and over....my mantra for the battle. When will the madness end? As you can tell, I found more ants in the kitchen today!! Arghhhhhh!!!

Some of you have been requesting updates on the yard. Well, patience my dears. The grass does not grow as fast as some of you would hope. Including myself. Here's the visual update....

As you can tell, the grass slowly sends out shoots and ultimately grows together in the bumper crop of a luscious, green carpet. This photo is of the very first pieces of sod that I planted. The rest of the yard is going sooooooo slooooooooowwwww. But I do have faith that the action is happening beneath the surface of the soil. Give it a year or two and I'll finally be able to enjoy the back yard.

So here's another shot of my slo-mo grass taken this morning. At least the tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers are doing better! I've already got baby cukes and tomatoes on the vine!

Here's one corner of the backyard with impatiens, young plumbago (blue flowering shrub upper left), bromeliads, iris and lily plant and a moses-in-a-boat plant. Fitting...i thought for a pastor.

The other corner...my rock garden... is also still under construction with a variety of bromeliads, gerbera daisies, lilies, aloe, irises, anthurium, orchids and begonia. The grass you can see is growing taller faster than it is growing wider.

So this is the front...we've got our little palm tree and behind that are 3 croton bushes that are supposed to have green, yellow and red leaves. They are predominantly all green or -ish. I've also planted some more bromeliads (i have an over abundance of those), an Ixora which is a orange shrub that flowers all year round...its in the left corner of the house but is obviously not cooperating or else you would see the blooms. Also I planted a Carissa plant which has beautiful white flowers and is similar to mistletoe. Also not cooperating. My shrubs are still deciding whether or not they will take. They have been in for about 2 months already though. Last but not least are my little potted vincas who dislike the Port Allen soil. I planted 6 in the backyard and lost them all. Potted the rest will be!! I also have Calla Lilies...but they too will get back to me on their decision of survival. They can't seem to make up their minds. I had to dig them up from the soil and pot them as well. Finicky things. Just take already!