One of our hellebores has a rather dramatic infestation of aphids. It's OK, because the flowers are spent and the plant is dying back for summer anyway. The Royal Horticultural Society advises us to tolerate aphids: "You don’t have to kill or control them. They are part of the biodiversity of gardens and a vital food source for other wildlife." I've picked them off plants by hand in the past (that's a nice way of saying I squashed them) but the ones on the hellebore are safe to live their lives for the next month, which is the average life span of an aphid. (I had to look it up -- that's longer than I expected!)
Last night on the way home from work I bought some petunias. Remember the "Night Sky" petunias I like and have planted in previous years? Well, I didn't see those, but I did see these, which are basically the red equivalent. I told Dave we should call them "Blood Sky" and I laughed so hard that he finally said: "Why is that funny?"
Killjoy.
Here was Olga on our walk yesterday morning, posing by some campanula at the Buckingham Mansions around the corner. This reminds me of the photos I took of Olga in Hampstead over a period of a few years, outside the Malaysian high commissioner's residence. She can't walk that far anymore so I'm glad I found a closer location for a similarly-themed floral portrait!
Dave probably laughed because your suggestion seemed quite silly.They look nothing like "blood sky" petunias. Instead, why not call them "emulsion paint spattered petunias"?
ReplyDeleteEdited to clarify that I laughed, not Dave. :)
DeletePerhaps your abundance of aphids will attract some ladybirds?
ReplyDeleteI hope so! I've seen some here and there but not as many as you'd think would be drawn by all those aphids!
DeleteI love Olga’s stance. I love that Dave questioned why he was laughing. Gorgeous Blood Sky. Ugh, aphids. They’re not always so late in the game. We gave up on growing hibiscus in Fuengirola because the aphids never allowed them to look good.
ReplyDeleteYeah, they love hibiscus. I remember that problem from Florida! I edited the post to clarify that I was laughing at my own joke -- Dave didn't laugh at all. :)
DeleteI don't really know campanula, but the flowers are pretty. Good luck with allowing aphids to dominate, as they strip down your roses. Nature will dominate, and then balance happens.
ReplyDeleteThere are several types of campanula here, all with purple bell-shaped flowers. (Hence the name, I think?)
DeleteSometimes things just strike us as funny.
ReplyDeleteAphids are a fact of life. And their overmasters- the ants.
It really wasn't that funny but I just could not stop laughing. I have no idea why!
DeleteI like how Olga's stance and looking off in another direction seems to suggest that she knows she looks good but take the damn photo already!
ReplyDeleteYeah, she always gives those vibes. She merely tolerates the camera.
DeleteOlga has the weary pose of the experienced model waiting for the photographer to get going.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's pretty much it. I wonder what's going through her mind -- if she's just eager to get on with it or if she's wondering what on earth I could be doing.
DeleteI love that photo of Olga, well done. As for aphids, they might be part of the natural world but I still hate them.
ReplyDeleteThey're pretty disgusting, admittedly.
DeleteThe petunia is very pretty, whatever you choose to call it. The splotches do look like nebulae.
ReplyDeleteOlga looks noble.
The "Night Sky" petunias really DO look like the night sky!
DeleteI wonder what Olga is thinking when you have her pose for photos. She looks good with those lovely purple flowers.
ReplyDeleteI do too. I expect she's not thinking much. Just knows she's being told to wait.
DeleteI'm always curious as to what draws aphids to some plants and not others. It is disappointing when a beautiful plant is destroyed by an insect.
ReplyDeletePetunias are great and provide flowers throughout the summer.
The campanula is a lovely blue. I did not realize it would grow against a wall.
Sweet Olga likes every photo opportunity she gets.
I'm just guessing, but I bet the sugar content of some plants is higher than others? Aphids love roses and lupines, but they don't seem to bother my dahlias much.
DeleteOlga cracks me up here. "Shoot the picture already and lets get on with it!" she seems to be saying. I love the theme and glad you didn't have to go far for it.
ReplyDeleteThat is definitely the message she's sending!
DeleteThat petunia is gorgeous! I think purple is Olga's color!
ReplyDeleteI think pink is really her color, but purple may be a close second. :)
DeleteGoodness, that's a lot of aphids on that bloom. I like your petunias. I really like the 'spotted' ones like that. Olga is looking good with those purple flowers around her.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the aphids are pretty gross. I actually rinsed off the plant after I posted this, but I'm sure they all crawled back on.
DeleteI had never heard that about aphids; I always want to squish them too. I love multi-colored flowers of any kind. You remind me that I didn't find the "black" petunias this year; there wasn't much selection at my hardware store. :(
ReplyDeleteI think we were trained as "gardeners of a certain age" that we should immediately kill any pest. Fortunately, now everyone is realizing that pests are part of the ecology of the garden. They really only need killing in extreme circumstances.
DeleteNice photo of Olga.
ReplyDeleteThank you! She says hello to Mercy.
DeleteDare you to pick off all these aphids.
ReplyDeleteI've done it before, believe me! (Not so much "pick off" as "smear off.")
DeleteI think the petunia is gorgeous, though I might have asked what was so funny about that name, too. (while laughing along since laughing seems to be contagious)
ReplyDeleteGreat photo of Olga!
Yeah, it was a momentarily funny thought that doesn't really stand the test of time!
DeleteWell *I* think Blood Sky Petunias is funny. Ha!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like a horror movie! "Are you ready to live beneath the BLOOD SKY?!?!"
DeleteHellebores make crap cut flowers that’s why I don’t like them
ReplyDeleteYeah, they're not good for that. They're really only pretty on the plant, but they're one of the few things that bloom in winter.
DeleteUgh!!! That is a lot of aphids! I've been listening to a lot of true crime lately. I'd have to call the petunia 'heavy cast off'. IYKYK.
ReplyDeleteHas there ever been a dog so photographed as Olga? She looks like she poses.
She is a very photogenic dog, it's true. I have no idea what "heavy cast off" means. I tried to Google it but all I got is info about removing a heavy plaster cast from a broken limb. Pretty sure that's not what you're referring to. LOL
DeleteSuch a nicely framed Olga photo - has that something extra provided by your photographer's eye.
ReplyDeleteDang it, I wish some of my flowers would bloom! I do like that petunia. And sometimes things just strike a person as funny, right? It doesn't necessarily make sense, it just IS.
You must be coming up on blooming season very soon!
DeleteAphids live for a month?? That's way too long. Olga looks good there.
ReplyDeleteHa! Right?! I was surprised it was that long. I would have guessed like 48 hours.
DeleteObviously Dave needs to work on his sense of humor. Either Olga is a photo diva or you've trained her to tolerate your photo taking. In any case she always poses nicely. Minnie would never. I have to catch her off guard.
ReplyDeleteI think "trained to tolerate" is definitely the correct description!
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