Last Thursday, I spent the better part of the day on my hands and knees planting iris from our previous home, as well as three plants my sister gave us as a house-warming gift. I discovered that the dirt here is the pits. It’s heavy clay filled with pebbles from house construction. I pulled the heavy layer of mulch back, and dug holes large enough to accommodate three chunks of iris, added bonemeal and a little potting soil and nestled them into their new homes.
We left for a wedding in Cleveland the following day. I hoped the weather would be kind to the plants because I really want to have this bit of my previous gardens follow us to the new house.
Monday night, Dear Husband was grilling our dinner and commented that some of the plants had been disrupted. I said I’d take a look at it, and forgot about it. The next morning, my sister was here to help unload the POD, and she said, “Look at that squirrel! He just pulled that plant out and is rolling around with it!” Sure enough. It had pulled the plant right out of the ground, and when it realized it wasn’t tasty, ran off to do some more damage.
Every single plant that I had put into the ground had been ripped out! I’ve re-planted them, but I think I need to spray them with a red pepper spray to discourage visitors. A friend on Facebook suggested scattering mothballs.
There was an old tennis ball in the back yard. I thought it might have been a dog toy that came over the fence. Now, I think it might have been for squirrel re-training. If I’d had it nearby when I saw that miserable rodent, I would have winged it right at it!