As you water your summer vegies in the cool summer evenings, take the time to really smell your garden. Slow down time, for me it is a moment in time for all my senses to relax. So grab the hose and meander around the garden.
A sprinkling of water on the tomatoes, basil, and lemon tree releases an amazing strong fragrance, so deep that it immediately calms me.
Then over to the mint patch where the heady minty scent including the spearmint provides a clearing fragrance especially when combined with the subtle chocolate mint and the spicy vietnamese mint.
In the herb patch the water releases a hint of fragrance from the thyme, oregano & parsley plants.
A few steps and wow a heady onslaught of lemon from the lemon verbena as I brush past on my way to water the curry plant , and what a strong hit of curry , it nearly overwhelms.
Then with senses still reeling , the subtle scent of the last broad bean flowers mingles with the wormwood and lavender , and it restores my mind back to relaxing and letting go of the days worries and business.
Summer also bringing’s a sense of vigilances to the garden, there can be white fly in the tomatoes & carrots , they suck plant juices, causing weak plants, yellow leaves, wilt and leaf drop ,they are easily dealt with, hang yellow sticky cards just above plant tops to capture and insecticidal soap or neem oil are effective whitefly controls.
Slugs and snails enjoy a munch on most plants , encourage birds & frogs ,as they eat slugs and snails. Copper strips placed around plants prevent feeding due to a chemical reaction with the slime produced by slugs and snails. A favorite nighttime activity at our place, is with a torch and bucket head out into the dark and handpick slugs & snails, drop them into a jar of soapy water.( compost in the morning). Beer traps also work, but the beer should be emptied and refilled daily. Another option is ducks as Bill Mollison founder of Permaculture says You don’t have a slug problem, you have a duck deficiency!
