The Lovely Lady In Her Garden Home

  In the garden, one can often find any number of critters.  Well, let me correct that.  In MY garden, one can find critters.  I do not use chemical pesticides so critters abound.  Pop always used to say that we just had to plant a few extra things so the critters could eat, too.  That is not to say that I relish losing my prized tomatoes or plump peaches but it is just a fact that I do not wish to poison myself along with the critters raiding the garden.  This includes insects.  A worm in a tomato, now and again, is not the end of the world.  That said, I AM all for natural elimination of the plant devouring critters.  

  Strung in between a tomato plant and the chives is a large spider web.  This is the home of a beautiful orb weaver called a yellow garden spider or writing spider.  She is most welcome to live in my garden and I try to avoid tearing her web whenever possible.  Occasionally, she gets a little spin-happy and strings her long silken threads across the path so I gently move them to another location.  I to not want her to relocate! 

  This spider does a remarkable job of catching the insects that lay eggs on the plants.  It is those eggs that hatch into what we call "worms" in the peaches, beans and other fruits and veggies.  A variety of moths and beetles get caught in her web each day and I am sure the same happens at night.  My pretty friend is growing fast!

  There are a number of natural pest control methods that can be used to keep the garden pest free.  My spider friend is a big help as is the rat snake that frequents the area.  While a few of my people friends have qualms about entering the garden due to the critter friends, their presence delights me and I continually tell them so!