Darwinian Garden observes No-Mow May
Sheltering at home, the Darwinian Gardener is spending more time observing the natural world around him. And he doesn't always like what he sees.
The Darwinian Gardener was pleased when the rain started. It had been a dry spring and walking on his lawn was beginning to feel and sound like treading on cornflakes.
But, as it always does, the rainy days returned. And plants in his yard that days before seemed like mere weeds blossomed into wildflowers. A nice effect.
But wait, who is this man who considers his lawn as something largely beyond his control. And indeed, something that's not even his job.
The Darwinian Gardener is Florida's foremost exponent of survival-of-the-fittest lawn-and-garden care. He's not there to create a green carpet on a lot that eons ago was a sand dune on a shoreline. He's at home with the geology the came with the place.
And now that many of us are forced to stay near our yards more than usual, it's an excellent time to Ask the Darwinian Gardener:
Q: Did the rain arrive in time to save your grass?
A: Only some of it. Some people would look at the patches of dead, straw-like grass on his lawn as a sign of personal failure. The Darwinian Gardner looks at those spots as places where his lawn had failed him.
He is disappointed at its lack of gumption and perseverance. It flunked the first test of the year, and he looks forward to seeing what replaces it.
Q: Wildflowers? Where did they come from?
A: The Darwinian Gardener has participated in No-Mow May. This initiative asks homeowners to hold off mowing for a few weeks and let the kind of plants that pollinators like bees depend on grow and bloom.
Having already celebrated No-Mow April all on his own, he was pleased that a more organized effort was backing him up. And sure enough, he's had more bees, birds and butterflies visiting.
Q: Are any other life forms inexplicably drawn to your wreck of lawn?
A: The squirrels have been especially active and the Darwinian Gardener has stepped up countermeasures. His previous actions to keep them out of the bird feeder failed laughably.
While usually a neutral bystander in the natural struggle, the Darwinian Gardener has chosen a side in the birds-versus-squirrels conflict. He has thrown his considerable influence in with the birds. They're more colorful, make nicer sounds and do less damage. He was particularly miffed that the rascally rodents ate half of his peach crop this year, taking both remaining peaches.
Helpful readers suggested greasing the pole holding the bird feeder, but the Darwinian Gardener was not up for continual re-greasing. Instead, he got a taller bird feeder holder and placed it more strategically.
The jury's still out on that one. These are resourceful creatures that regard his countermeasures with what he imagines is amused contempt.
Q: Have the air potato beetles returned this year.
A: The Darwinian Gardener has been a big supporter of the University of Florida's great air potato beetle experiment. He tried for three years to invite the bugs to the vast potential repast to be found in his yard. He hoped they would summer there as his guests.
Sadly, the bugs, which made their way to his yard only tardily last year, were conspicuous by their absence this year.
Meanwhile, the pernicious vine, after resting for the winter, returned with a vengeance and had to be manually cut away from a choice azalea bush that it was in the process of strangling. An exercise that takes a lot of patient unwinding of the twisty vines.
The Darwinian Gardener is not a patient man and ended up, as he always does, hacking away at both intruding vine and suffering host plant.
He'll watch what grows back more carefully as he continues sheltering at home.
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