It's been raining a lot these past several weeks, coupled with unusually warm temperatures. These are conditions for abundance... of plant life as well as insect life. As has become my custom for the past few years, I thin out the explosive growth in my garden and give my excess plants away to other gardeners. Since I have been actively uprooting and tilling my garden for the past two or three seasons, I have a very good idea what is going on below the surface. This year I have made a distressing discovery. My garden has become host to an uncomfortably high number of Japanese beetle grubs, many more than I have seen in the past several years. On a more positive note, I have seen a comparable increase in the number of earthworms in my garden, a sign that bodes well for healthy growth.
To anyone else, this information would be the signal to apply some sort of chemical treatment against the grubs and nothing more. To me, this is a signal to start putting the pieces together. The spring growing season began relatively early and the temperature became unseasonably warm. Spring blooms began their ascent much earlier than usual as if in a hurry to get the season started while late winter flowers lagged behind. Although the blooming timetable evetually seemed to stabilize, there were other anomalies. Flowers that I had carefully planted last year were showing up in unexpected, not necessarily desired, places this year and weeds are particularly vigorous.
My garden's habits this year have tended to echo the political energy in this country so here's where I begin to make the connections. The early and energetic start to spring correlates to the high energy present at the beginning of the year when President Obama took office. The lagging winter flowers seem to indicate vestiges of the former administration that continue to drag down the progress of the present administration. Plants showing up in unexpected places seems obvious: familiar faces will appear in areas where they haven't been before (Hillary Clinton's appointment as Secretary of State is an example). The vigorous weed growth and increased grub population says that there are forces at work seeking to undermine the changes taking place. If we are to prevent this from occurring, we must be willing to put in the drudge work necessary to keep unsavory elements under control. The increase in worms tell me that there are more among us who are willing to do what needs to be done.
If my "read" on this situation is correct, we're in for lots of change and lots of energetic shifting. We should enjoy the benefits of this change but be mindful that it can shift directions in an instant. Nothing can be taken for granted. In the garden of life we must be like the industrious ants preparing for lean times, not like the happy-go-lucky grasshopper who fiddles away during the good times and suffers during the bad.
In the garden, as in life, it's all about balance.
Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva
I predicted abundance for this growing season and so far I have not been disappointed. My floral show has been excellent and today I picked my second "crop" of strawberries. I have never gotten more than six or seven strawberries a year out of my many plants but this year I have been able to pick several dozen so far and there are more on the way. I am hoping for similar results with the few vegetables I have planted. My clematis has made itself at home (with some help from me) in the trellis I installed last year in the memorial garden. I've planted some new flowers this year that I've never had before and they are progressing nicely. On the down side, the same conditions that are favorable for my flowers are favorable for weeds and I find myself pulling out more acacia and maple seedlings than ever before, not to mention the blanket straw, crabgrass, etc. 
Regardless, I expect to enjoy my garden this year as in years past but this year there is a twist. We have adopted an adorable and energetic 1 year old beagle named Marla. She loves being outdoors and has expressed herself by running through the daffodils at breakneck speed, completely uprooting and killing one of my new bleeding heart plants and digging at every available opportunity. Needless to say Marla is no longer permitted in my back yard. It remains to be seen how Marla and my garden get along in the future. Time will tell.
