Karen vs the wilderness

Last year it was the discovery of clay, followed quickly by squirrels digging up freshly planted spring bulbs. Dollar Store Gardening Hack #1 - wire waste baskets (at $1.25) make a great cloche, turn them upside down and put a rock or brick on top. The first spring, I was not prepared for the invasion, in true military fashion, of the waves of snails and slugs that wanted to decimate all of the daffodils, alliums, and fritillary. At the end of last summer, I noticed that dahlias that looked healthy one day, were on their side the next day. Voles! Voles had chewed the tubers.

This spring (2026) I have an entire community of voles. Dollar Store Gardening Hack #2 - those same wire waste baskets? I’m planting dahlias in them and then putting them in the dahlia patch. Time will tell how this works. I’m wrapping vole targets in 1/4” hard cloth, putting vole pellets down, and installing a barn owl nesting box (probably too late for this year, but I have high hopes for next year). The same invading army of snails/slugs is on the attack again.

In the large pile of garden soil/compost I have in the driveway, snakes have taken up residence. I find them on top of the pile, just under the tarp. There is also a colony of tiny organish/red ants trying to take up residence in the same pile of soil.

I noticed a rabbit hanging out in the woody strip in our backyard. I’m hopping the garden fence holds and that the native perennials I’ve started are rabbit proof. They are supposed to be deer resistant so hopefully it holds true for rabbits. So far the deer, which I was most worried about, walk by the garden fencing and haven’t tried to jump it.

And, the bugs are biting - even during the day.

I hesitate to ask, what could possibly be next….