Spring is well and truly here. I killed my first Red Lily Bug today. Technically they are Red Lily Beetles, not bugs but most gardeners don’t care what entomologists call them they just care about the damage they can do to their Lilies. The overwintering adults emerge as the warming soil starts the Lilies emerging. Those of us who are truly on guard against this red menace will look first at our emerging Fritillaria. These exotic bulbs are about the only thing other than Lilies that these little red menaces consume. The adults are bright red and somewhat slow moving so their eradication is relatively easy. I will now go into the garden every day with my needle nosed pliers in my back pocket and look closely at every emerging Lily. A quick but satisfying crunch will indicate that another of these little red devils has been eliminated from my gardens. The adults eat their share of emerging Lilies and for that reason alone we should hunt them down. Even worse is the devastation that their larva can bring upon the foliage of our blooming Lilies. I have found that a little diligence squishing the adults is a vital part of an effective control of these nasty red devils.




The weather is slowly, ever so slowly, warming and all of the Crocus that have been ignored by the squirrels are popping into bloom all over the garden. Yellow, white and many shades of purple are appearing in clumps and clusters all over the yard. It’s interesting to watch as the garden slowly dries towards the low point in the south east corner, the emerging Crocus follow the drying ground. The full foliage of the emerging Tulips is promising a great show in a couple of weeks. I’m always amazed at the Bergenia. It emerges from the snow a wilted, brown and limp mess and within a few days of warm sun those lifeless leaves stand up and start to turn green and new leaves emerge from what appeared to be a lifeless mess. How something with that leaves that large can even attempt to be evergreen is really quite amazing. This is another example of the deep snow cover this winter actually protecting the garden from the extreme cold that we experienced.

Now it’s time to answer a few of my reader’s questions. Don’t forget to check the front page of the Website for frequent short ideas for current gardening activities.