How it really is……

I’m feeling a bit of a fraud, although that’s too strong a word, a bit guilty isn’t quite right either, deceptive is kind of what I mean.  You see my garden isn’t perfect.   I wrote my October -Wrap Up  post and gots lots of lovely comments about how lush the garden looks. While that’s true in places;

it isn’t always really true if you look a bit closer.  So today I thought I’d show you the other side, the side I carefully edit out of the photos, the failures, the half eaten and the just plain messy.

I thought I start with the eaten (with a few weeds thrown in for good measure).  Whilst I know what has caused the damage on the cabbage (a large green caterpillar) this is the first time I have encountered these beetles (see below).  After a little research I think they are either cucumber or potato beetles – probably the later as they are on a Cape Gooseberry which is Solanaceae.  Annoying destructive little things, they have returned twice after I gave them the Pyrethrum treatment – does anyone have other ideas?

If plants aren’t getting eaten they’re doing things they shouldn’t be doing – like bolting rather than developing a heart – this is supposed to be iceberg lettuce:

Then there are all those signs of neglect – the mess, weeds and plants that clearly need a new home:

And finally there are the failures:  Garlic planted in potting mix that was clearly past its best:

Worst of all (although I know there are some who will disagree) my dill, my lovely dill, the thing they call weed in the States, so I presumed would be indestructable, and that I was talking up a couple of weeks ago, has done this:

If anyone knows what kills dill I would love to know.