Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Wandering through your gardens – the things you discover!
I do love touring my gardens, checking to see what’s going on. Even though I know what’s supposed to happen, I always feel really delighted when it does! Like seeing my carpet roses blooming outrageously!
Or watching the progress of my veggie garden.
And then there’s usually some unwanted stuff hanging out in the garden! Japanese beetles instantly come to mind!
And some cool, interesting, odd things!
Years ago I had a Ninebark ‘Coppertina’ shrub that had, what looked to be, a black fungus on it. Turned out it was actually a bunch of aphids. But wait, there’s more! Black ants were crawling all over the aphids…
DAIRY ANTS keep herds of aphids, like farmers keep herds of cows. In the winter, these ants carry aphids into their nests and care for them. In the spring, the aphids are placed on plants(in this case my Ninebark shrub), where they feed. The ants “milk” the aphids by stroking them with their antennae. That signals the aphids to release a sweet substance called honeydew. The ants get a tasty meal — and the aphids get protection from predators. But not from me and my soapy water. I’ve also seen them on burdock.
Send me your comments, questions and suggestions for future garden bites! Email me at tkgardenbite@gmail.com or find GardenBite on Facebook!