Garden Helpers

The good gardener labors tirelessly in her garden, battling the elements to produce a good crop. The smart gardener uses all the technological means at her disposal to achieve the same. But the wise gardener is willing to take help wherever she can get it. Even from spiders.

We had a bumper year for pests in the garden, meaning it was also a bumper year for garden spiders. I took to carrying around a stick as I walked down my garden paths in order to knock down the many webs. This being a more pleasant option than knocking them down with my face. Even though I detest spiders, I welcome their presence in the garden, knowing that they're my staunch allies in the battle against the bugs.

Sometimes your helpers aren't home when you come knocking. I can't say that I'm exactly sad when that happens. Empty spider webs are much more fascinating to me than spiders.

Sometimes, though, even I can make an exception. I apologize for the quality of the video; it was taken with my iPhone. Most of the jiggling happened when the wind blew the spider in my direction and I had to leap backwards, lest the spider infringe into my personal "spider safety zone."

The other garden helpers that established a noticeable presence in my garden this year were tree frogs, like this adorable fellow, hiding amongst the cucumber vines. I love these little guys and only wish I knew how to attract more to my garden.

One helper that was noticeably absent from my garden was ladybird beetles and I'm not sure why. I may resort to importing a supply next summer should they once again choose to boycott my garden.