The Welcoming Rose Garden

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It has been a spectacular summer for visitors to my gardens. For a planned garden tour, chances are you will find me dressed in clothing from a gentler time. If you just pop in (which I also love), more than likely you will find me with a watering wand in my hand soaking down my +- 300-or-so roses (but who’s counting!). It has been a super-hot July here in north central Connecticut. We just finished a ten day heat wave with temperatures flirting with 100 degrees. Whew! That felt pretty blistering! We finally got some good, soaking rain over the weekend; almost two inches fell. The last time we got close to an inch of rain was June 11th, the day of my first home and rose garden tour of the season.

People are not the only visitors to my rose gardens, however. This year, because of our mild winter, we are overrun with chipmunks! They have holes everywhere. I understand that these little critters deliver between three and five pups twice a season, so I can hardly wait for the new babies to show up! Whatever will we do…

These chippers (that’s what they say: ‘chipchipchip,’ incessantly!) like to dig. In my welcoming rose garden. They will dig in any kind of soil, but the soft, well-worked garden soil offers them the opportunity to dig really BIG holes. They have undermined several of the rosebushes in the Neighborhood Garden out near the street. I cannot see the bottoms of the holes, but I can see the network of big roots where the chippies dig their entrance. I keep filling them in. They keep digging them out. I have poured milorganite down the holes before I re-fill, and they dig them out again. I have poured Liquid Fence down before refilling. That stuff really stinks! It’s putrefied egg product mixed with garlic and thyme oils. They don’t care; the holes reappear. They don’t even mind the plant food!

One of the oldest ladies on one of my garden tours told me, ‘I don’t have any more chipmunks! I made a swimming pool for them and caught 13 the first day!’ This consists of a half-filled five gallon bucket with a piece of 2X4 from the rim to the ground. She sprinkled a few sunflower seeds on the water. The chippies are curious, run up the ramp, jump in for the seeds, and proceed to drown. This lady was happy with her method but I just can’t bring myself to do that. Some people are trapping them in have-a-heart traps and releasing them elsewhere. My friend, Helen, lent us her trap to try. She said they panic after an hour or so, so if we’re going to relocate them we’d better do it sooner than later. We haven’t tried the trap yet.

Last week, I noticed a HUGE hole underneath ‘Marmalade Skies,’ a bright orange floribunda. This rose is located at the bottom of the hill in my Rose Garden. That hole was so big that I was sure it must contain a big oppossum! The garden needed watering, so I started at the top and worked my way down to the bottom of the garden. It was a good opportunity to have a chat with an old friend on the phone while I watered, so I sort of forgot about the big hole. I reached ‘Marmalade Skies,’ still chatting with Joni, and within a minute was startled by a really loud ‘CHIP!’ A very wet chipmunk gave me a dirty look and ran off into the neighbor’s yard.

Last week, I looked out to the birdfeeder early in the morning from the pantry window. I saw a bunch of fledgling English Sparrows on the driveway, flipping their wings and crying out to their parents to be fed. A chipmunk walked across the driveway, came up behind one of the birds, and broke its neck with one bite. The bird went limp and the chippy carried it under the lilac and proceeded to eat it!! I ran and got Bob and we went outside to get a closer look. There were two other dead birds under the lilac, as well. I always thought chipmunks were vegetarian seed-eaters! And what was this, the chipmunk from hell???

After I looked up bird-eating chipmunk on the internet, I read a number of articles about these little guys. They not only kill and eat small birds, but they climb trees, raid bird nests, and eat eggs and chicks. So do grey, red, and black squirrels. This was quite the revelation for me.

I have a couple of happy cats that have a tendency to be a little lazy. But, this is summer, and so they really like to go outside…at least for a little while. Missie has only caught one chipmunk, but I think the word went out to these little buggers. Rahjah likes to investigate where they hang out in the front yard and Missie is always on alert. All of a sudden, we are seeing ‘way fewer chipmunks in the rose garden than we had before. Our kitty patrol seems to be working! Good…I didn’t want to have to trap them. Hopefully, they packed up and moved out with all their relatives. Now, I’ll go out and fill in the holes again. I hope it works this time!

Meet Marci Martin

Marci Martin has loved roses for as long as she can remember. From the time she was a little girl, she was fascinated with how…

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