The Guardians of Our Garden

"The Guardians of The Garden"

by Zen Gardener John

These beautiful golden marigolds are part of my plan to use some natural plants as guardians of my garden.  Protect them from?  Various insects and animals, including deer, raccoons, squirrels, and an assortment of insects from aphids to members of the caterpillar and beetle family.  The only beetles I want to see in my vegetable garden are Paul, George, Ringo, and John singing a "Hard Days Night".  

After doing some reading, and comparing my efforts at natural at this last year, I decided to add a few more pest repelling plants this year. 

My list now includes marigolds (a mixed variety), lavender, rosemary, mint (7 varieties), oregano, sage (two varieties), and of course a handful of the 12 varieties of peppers that I have.  The extra hot spicy peppers help to naturally ward off four-legged pests.  However, these peppers ironically also attract six and eight-legged pests of their own.  Nonetheless, they are a helpful pesticide-free way of not adding toxic chemical solutions into my garden and my environment's groundwater.

Not so bad for a big city boy turned outdoorsman and now a Zen seeking gardener?  

Outside of using just hot pepper plants, all the strong fragrances of other plants are not just beautiful, but they also ward off many pesky animals and insects.  Although the legendary scents of lavenders, sage, and rosemary are well known for attracting humans, they also repel many pests - including deer and mosquitoes.

In addition, my new mint plants also have spiritually uplifting aromas that have found many uses in holistic and relaxing environments. My peppermint, spearmint, sweet mint, orange mint, strawberry mint, chocolate mint, and apple mint (seedlings) all have wonderful fragrances that reflect their namesake.  However, their beautiful fragrances tend to be too strong for most deer to put up with.

Lastly, Mother Nature has her own very effective guardians for our gardens.  These are usually in the form of spiders. Yes, I know.  For those of us who hate or fear spiders, this can be an enormous emotional challenge.  Especially when the spiders get excited and try to build whole apartment complexes.  However, they are nature's way of trying to weed out (no pun intended) some of the pests in our garden.  Give them names!  Helps with coping when you give them a personality (along with your garden plant names) and you will eventually begin to see their importance in the grand scheme of your garden.

I would like to know what you readers out there use for pest control?  Leave a comment below or email me at NYEastside.info@gmail.com.