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Monday, September 27, 2010

Two bads and two goods.

BAD #1
I was walking around the neighborhood yesterday, and thought I would just take a pic of some of the ruin left behind by a foreclosure. It makes me wonder where are the code enforcement people??? Yes, bank,,,you have to keep the lawn mowed, but what about a little edging here and there too???Sometimes I want to strangle the code enforcement people...hello...where are you????? Aren't property values plummeting well enough without adding this to the mix?


BAD #2
What are these white fluffy-looking bug/things on the undersides of my eggplant leaves??? I think I will call them Gross Wooley Monsters, becasue they made me want to vomit when I saw them. YUCK. I sprayed them with my Eco Sense by Ortho and hopefully they are goners!

GOOD #1
I still have some beautiful flowers in my tire gardens. Here are some still- blooming Purple Salvia and orange Zinnias. I love looking out my kitchen window all day to such gorgeousness!!!


GOOD #2
I picked up a pack of 6 little Ichiban eggplant starts to plant in spare spots in my buckets. Once I read in my Florida Gardening book that you can keep an eggplant plant alive for 3 years, I was hooked. Someone told me that the long thin Ichibans are not as bitter as the big ones like in the store...and I have certainly found that to be true...so for 1.67 at Home Depot, I am starting me a few more. YEAH!

Happy Tuesday to you all!

9 comments:

Cindy said...

Bad #2 is mealybugs. In the photo, you can see the ants "tending" them, just like they do with aphids. There is a small ladybird beetle called the Mealybug Destroyer that eats mealybugs. Their larvae look rather like mealybugs themselves. You might want to keep an eye out for them. (although the Ortho will kill them as well.)

Good #1 is so lovely. You should make a painting of it!

marianne said...

O... a foreclosure ....makes me wonder what drama lies beneath...
Ugly bugs. Yakky
But wonderful flowers and I bet you still have beautiful weather!

Enjoy your day dear!

Bobbie Lynn said...

Hi Julie,
Sorry to hear about the property next to you and hope someone will buy it soon.

I have not see those little wooly pests before and hope the Eco Sense helps. But look at your flowers there. What a beautiful shot and love that color combination too. Have a wonderful day.

P.S. Congrats on your Okra too.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Your flowers are lovely fall colors. I can't wait to see how long you can keep your eggplant alive.

yoon see said...

There are the balance of good and bad but I am so glad you are so positive doing your best.

Sure,I love to look out for wonderful experience like some still blooming Purple Salvia and orange Zinnias too1

Planting eggplants...I love eating eggplants. look like you are busy for good Julie!

stapeliad said...

OH NO Mealy Bugs! They have killed more than one of my plants. very hard to get rid of. You can spray rubbing alcohol on them. Then check to make sure they don't come back.

LOL yes my rats have wonderful long ratly tails. :) But I understand how you feel, generally it is the tail that people don't like about rats for some reason. Maybe because they are bald and scaly?

Daya sang a lullaby to the rats last night, she loves them.

Love and hugs,
Jessica

Snippety Gibbet said...

That one house, with the creeping sidewalk, looked like something out of a horror movie. The foreclosure mess seems to have slowed down a bit here. For a while, there were tall lawns everywhere. You'd see the green letters from the county stuck to their windows, and a few days later the grass would be cut. Maybe not cut well, but cut. jj

Unknown said...

Fantastic view from yr kitchen. Love it.

Catherine said...

Oh Julie, I see you have the same garden problem I have - MEALY BUGS! AHHH! They have infested my entire balcony! I am so ashamed that I have yet to send you cuttings of my plants, but please understand it's because I did not want to infest your garden too!

If you check out my blog you will see I did a few posts on my Mealy Bug problem, I bought and sprayed Organocide (from Home Depot) and so far it seems to be minimizing the problem. However, they seem to migrate to any part of the plant that wasn't covered well with the spray. They are so annoying! They have spread from one plant to another and now they are on everything on my balcony. I definitely recommend the Organocide and checking plants daily, swabbing any remaining bugs with alcohol and water. Let me know how it goes for you, this has definitely wreaked havoc with my gardening patience and optimism!

Hope you are well, your garden looks lovely aside from those sticky cotton secreting devils!

;)Catherine