Boy, the plants in the gardens are really taking off. Except for yet another phlox that I caught a young deer chomping on at 5:30 this morning. Darn it! It will come back but it was one of the few that hadn’t been chomped on the first time around. It will be a case of delayed gratification.
But back to “taking off” –
There’s the Annabelle hydrangea right next to the spirea. Lots and lots of blooms this year. And the roses to the right are also blooming.
We are having an outbreak of gypsy moth caterpillars in our area. They are everywhere. And they’re eating all the leaves on one of my oaks, and most likely on another one up in the woods. It’s terrible! There are all sorts of posts on our local FB pages about them and I guess you can really see the devastation up on the mountains. They’re also attacking rose bushes (I removed one from a bush the other day, but you can’t touch them directly or they’ll give you a rash.) And willows. And pines. So far, all of my maples seem safe, but damn, it’s horrendous! We’ve lived here nearly 19 years and I’ve never seen anything like it. There are all sorts of “remedies” but they don’t work consistently and many of oaks around here are very old and very tall and it’s impossible to get to the caterpillars because they start at the top of the tree and work their way down. I see them on the side of the house and one dropped on my head a few weeks back. I’m hoping we’ll soon see the end of the devastation. And I’m praying our young oaks survive this. Supposedly, they start to change into moths in mid to late June. Metamorphosis is coming. But in the meantime…
Be gone!
Harper in a new ensemble made by Hilly Rags, who lives in England. I have not been buying clothes for the girls, but every once in a while, when I have a little extra and something pops up, I treat myself. I have another dress by a different maker coming in the next week or two.
She looks darned cute, doesn’t she?
Stay safe.
Happy Wednesday.
Claudia, I’m so sorry you are dealing with gypsy moths. I can commiserate with you. We’ve had them for 3 or 4 years now. It’s like a plague! There isn’t alot you can really do other than get aerial spraying done (like crop dusting). It is pricey though and around here it is a minimum of 60 acres so you have to go together with neighbors and has to be done fairly early. The neighbors on either side of us aren’t interested so we are stuck. There is also a product called tanglefoot (I think), it’s sticky and you put around the tree trunks and they get stuck when they go up or down the tree. The majority are up in the canopy and when they get big enough you can hear the munching if it’s quiet. It is just gross…caterpillar droppings all over our deck. I’m tempted to cut down the big oak that overhangs the deck but I love that tree. They say they go in cycles and I do think it is better this year than the last few years so I hope we are coming to the end of the cycle. Here in Michigan they will disappear by mid July.
I do remember them being really bad 25-30 years ago. They would just about cover one side of the house at times, and be crawling on the grass. I believe the county aerial sprayed back then and they weren’t a problem again until a few years ago. They can decimate the oaks although they generally will rebound.
Take care
There are local wildlife advocates who don’t like the sticky stuff because bird get caught on it. There have been lots of bird injuries this season because of it. The one oak I can see from the house is relatively young but it will soon be leafless.
Stay safe, Marilyn.
dear Claudia/Don — that spirea bush is beautiful !! so far, we have not seen gypsy moths but a couple years ago, we (our entire region) had outbreak of tent caterpillars — they have web-like nests that are easy to see. they were everywhere — then a big eliminating project began b/c horses were ingesting worms which was causing miscarriages of fetuses, a humongous problem for horse owners — the worms love wild cherry trees which were very plentiful here, especially near horse fields — since the trees have been cut, the trouble is much, much less, thank goodness. hope your gypsy moth moves to next phase before too much damage is done to trees/vegetation. staysafe/healthy
We have tent caterpillars every year, but, at least around here, they are pretty harmless.
Thanks, Linda.
Stay safe.
Beautiful picture! I don’t think I’d like all those moths caterpillars around. Hopefully the oaks survive! Darling new dress on Harper!
I’m praying for my oaks.
Stay safe, Barrie.
My parents who had a farm were very familiar with the tent caterpillars. They were awful. On a brighter note, Harper is adorable in her new frock. I love the pinafore aspect of it. She is all readyfor summer. Does Hilly Rags sell on Etsy? Hugs, Elaine
I believe tent caterpillars are different than gypsy moth caterpillars. We have tent caterpillars every year and they don’t do the damage that the gypsy moth caterpillars do.
Hilly Rags sells on Etsy but she is very popular and when she announces a sale, she sells out within minutes. This dress was pure luck.
Stay safe, Elaine.
No gypsy moths here but we have cicadas. They are everywhere and are noisy but they will be gone soon. They don’t damage the trees much but are unsightly and have flown into me when I am out for my walks. They have a 13-year or 17-year cycle so we won’t see them again for a long time.
Cicadas I don’t mind at all. We had them a few years back and I found them fascinating.
Stay safe.
The gypsy moths sound horrible attacking your older tall trees. I hope this infestation is short-lived.
When I said I cut back on the coneflowers, I didn’t mean ALL the ones self seeding around the property. Just the ones that come up in the middle of other flowering bushes or hang over the borders. We have hundreds and hundreds of them, some reaching over 5 feet tall! I love to watch the goldfinches and monarch butterflies flit among them.
Take care,
Kay
We have hundreds as well. I can never have enough! The flowers are just starting to form.
Stay safe, Kay!
oh, that is awful, claudia! so sorry you have to deal with gypsy moths and the damage they are doing to your oak trees. i too hope and will pray their metamorphosis happens soon and quickly to limit harm to your trees. better yet that they leave soon (not wishing them on anyone else, just that they go). bleh.
harper’s new dress looks perfect for her … great choice!
we’re in the middle of a too-long string of hot days … mid 90s. not my favorite weather. not to wish away time, but i am ready for the cool, clear days of late fall. in the meantime, we are staying indoors with the curtains closed and taking it easy.
hope you, don and everyone else are taking it easy, too. stay safe!
kathy
We are going to have those temps next week. Every day; mid-nineties. Yuck.
Stay safe, Kathy.
Bummer on the gypsy moths. We had those a number of years ago at the lake and they were ugly. Meanwhile, your gardens are looking lovely. I hear you on the deer — my sweet pea is apparently haute cuisine for our locals. Well, everyone’s gotta eat.
Yes, but there are plenty of other things to dine on here!
Stay safe, Jeanie,
I remember gypsy moths doing a lot of damage along the Blue Ridge, sorry you are now having them. In residential areas people put little burlap skirts around tree trunks and picked out the catepillers that got stuck there – don’t know if that is still an approved approach but I sure remember carrying a bucket of water along and drowning catepillers from under the burlap all around my parents’ garden! Their trees survived but now 40+ years later are getting something called Oak Tree Sudden Death syndrome. Always something….
The spirea/hydrangea combination is striking; my spiraeas hardly bloom, probably need to move them to a sunnier spot!
Ceci
It’s pretty sunny where the spirea is planted. I’m sure that helps.
Stay safe, Ceci.
Beautiful! My hydrangeas are still in very tight buds. The roses this year have been spectacular! Lots of gypsy moth caterpillars to squish here too. Mother Nature does have an interesting circle of life. <3
She sure does. I wish she’d give my oaks a break, though!
Stay safe, Betsy!