I don’t haven any photos of mosquitos – I’d just like you to visualize them. Stepping outside early in the morning, mug of coffee in hand, wandering through the kitchen garden and flower beds, reaching down to pluck away a dandelion about to scatter seed amongst the Iris, and, at the same time, scratch your leg, because there’s an itch, and you see the cause of the itch. One, two, no – three, jurassic size mosquitos right below your knee (because you’re wearing shorts, of course, it’s such a lovely morning), happily sucking out your blood.
Well.
You learn quickly to wear long sleeves and long pants with the cuffs tucked into your socks if there’s any sort of gardening to be done before a rising sun drives the whiny insects into the cool woods. But venture forth gardeners (and photographers) do, long sleeves, bug spray and all, because at this time of the year something new is blooming every day, and there’s seldom enough hours in each day to do and see everything you really want to do and see.
That said, Six on Saturday is a gardener’s meme hosted by The Propagator – if you visit his site you’ll see gorgeous gardens from around the world. Here’s a bit of my garden this week.
You worry me with the mosquitoes! I’m going with family in August to Quebec and around for 15 days and I think I’m going to be attacked by mosquitoes too!
Stunning carpet of ipheions
If you’re in cities or towns the mosquitos won’t bother you, except at dusk or dawn, perhaps. Also, by August they’ve pretty much disappeared around here so you should be fine!🙂
Many walks planned in the Mauricie Park and Mont Tremblant
Bug spray recommended!
HOW does anyone wear shorts in THAT climate?! How do mosquitoes survive in that climate?
Mount Everest was one of the Alliums that I wanted to try, but I got Allium Schumbertii and Allium christophii as gifts from Tangly Cottage Gardening first. They are likely better options anyway, since they are likely more reliably perennial. Their blooms are very wide!
I have A. christophii coming up now, looking forward to the bloom…We all wear shorts in the summer because it gets as hot and humid as Chicago, New York or Philadelphia here. Except at certain times of the day when the mosquitos are out, then we wear long pants. And mosquitos…they survive was way up north, in the Arctic. Seriously.
Well, I suppose that humidity makes the difference. I notice that 95 degrees seems to be very warm if it is also a bit humid, although it does not get very humid here with the chaparral climate. 120 degrees does not seem to be so warm with minimal humidity.
Ha! That’s the cliche here, when people go south for the winter (at least, the southwest, not Florida…) – it’s hot, but it’s a dry heat, so it’s tolerable.
Yes, that is true, but as you say, cliche also. 120 degrees in Trona is hot regardless of aridity.
That Iris is superb. I completely understand about the mosquitos. We had a holiday in the Canadian Rockies a few years ago, we stepped out of the car to enjoy the vista after a long drive from Calgary and within seconds we were all sampled for breakfast or elevenses or lunch or all three by the local insects. And yes we had been warned but – you know – tourists and all that, we didn’t quite realise how bad it might be.
So funny! I can picture you getting out of the car, quickly snapping a few photos then rushing back in….
Lots of nice blooms from your garden, Chris. Mosquitoes! Don’t get me started. One almost killed me four years ago…literally. I exercise caution as best I can now, practicing what you mentioned. Cover up with treated clothing and smear Picaridin wherever I am exposed. I do have a photo of a mosquito but one of the harmless variety.
A small cluster of Ipheion sits next to our foundation. It just showed up and maybe some ants carried the seeds for a distance to get them here. So far they control themselves.
Yikes! You must have been in the tropics eh? Here we just worry about ticks doing serious harm (another reason to wear long pants these days…). I never thought about the ants dispersing seeds…but they’re everywhere so could very well be!
And I love the elephant mosquito – would trade them any day for the blood suckers we have here!
Nope. Right here in Western Massachusetts. I got West Nile Virus encephalitis and was laid up for 3 months. The worst part was no nature and photography. The best part was cuddling with my beagle in my recliner (our recliner) while recuperating. I still have trouble with balance and fall in the woods fairly often. Even with the protection I always use there was no way I could do so all the time and could very well have been bitten in bed or at work where our warehouse is open most of the day.
Who’d think a mosquito would be so beautiful? It looks like a piece of jewelry.
Wow…..I forgot about West Nile…
Once you survive it you have an immunity to it. That won’t help with EEE though. Supposedly everything has a purpose. I suppose the mosquito’s and tick’s is survival of the fittest.
Well. You’d love our salt marsh mosquitoes (she says with tongue firmly in cheek). They’re tiny, almost as small as gnats, and they fly all day and all night. Walk into the grasses, and clouds of them rise up. Ghastly. Of course we have other species, too. They certainly make the dragonflies, bats, and birds happy, but the humans? Not so much. The Picaridin Steve mentioned is terrific. You can buy it in a spray bottle and treat clothes, tents, etc. It lasts through several washings, and, combined with a Picaridin spray, really works. It repels ticks and chiggers, too, and best of all, it doesn’t harm gear like cameras.
The Ipheion and the Viburnum are my favorites — now nice that they’re willing to spread and/or increase blooms for you!
I’ve never heard of Picaridin – definitely need to look for it! We have something called black flies – they love to breed in fast moving streams and other wetlands. Luckily (know on wood) they don’t show up on our property, but when I lived in the North they were everywhere; swarms of them (plus mosquitos) have been said to fell a full grown caribou… They’re insidious because you don’t feel them landing, just the blood trickling down the back of your neck after they’ve feasted…
Picaridin is more for skin application. Permethrin is for clothing and lasts for several washings as Linda mentioned. Use it on a windless day for two reasons. First you don’t want it blowing on your face or exposed skin. It’s harmless to us once dry. Second you don’t want any collateral damage to beneficial or otherwise insects. You can also purchase pre-treated clothing to repel ticks from places like LLBean and Amazon has a few suppliers as well. As far as I know its only negative is to cats. It is harmful to them even after drying.
Thanks for this info – my cats kinda like to burrow in clothing given half a chance. I wonder if the Deet I use also is harmful to them…
A quick Google came up with this” Based on experimental studies in animals, clinical signs of DEET toxicosis in dogs and cats include hypersalivation, vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, excitation, ataxia, and seizures. Since November 2001, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center has received numerous reports regarding DEET toxicosis in dogs and cats.”
Citrus, not citronella, is a mosquito repellent. As far as I know cats are the only domestic animal harmed by Permethrin so that sounds like a nogo for you. I think pyrethrins are okay with cats.
OK then – thanks!
Canada is famous for its mosquitoes, so you have my sympathies. Our current nemesis are black flies. So annoying…arrgh!
I curse that I let those Star of Bethlehem into my garden many years ago, for the ants have spread them everywhere. They crowd out nearly everything in a garden, hogging nutrients, and now are taking over the lawn… be warned!
And their bulbs go deep I imagine…thanks for the warning, I may now start pulling!
At least cut and trash the seed heads to slow their spread. Beautiful but wicked things! They do make a nice long-lasting cut flower however. 🙂
Everything is looking wonderfully floral. Love that Ipheion. Mosquitoes amaze me with their abundance on short notice. I hope you have some visiting dragonflies.
I saw a dragonfly yesterday, for the first time this year. It was fat already, and I hope s/he has many relatives!!!
I have heard about the mosquitoes (and midges) in Canada. It’s all those lakes and rivers you have, I guess. I am suffering from Allium envy, especially of Purple Sensation, quite hard to source here, and that Iris is simply gorgeous.
Yeas, midges are plentiful in spring here, swarming along the roadside as I run thru them! But I don’t think they bite, unlike mosquitos and black flies.
Let us pause to sing the praises of all viburnums, shall we? So glad your Shasta is liking its spot. I have close to a dozen viburnums here (always adding more) and love each one. Others have moaned enough about your mosquitos. I’ve lived many places where they thrived – including Virginia and the coast of Portugal, surprisingly – but I must say (brag alert) we don’t suffer from them here. So I will be pleased about that and be thankful I am where I am, despite it continuing to be 48 degrees F today…
Still so cold! I think the reason I moan about them so much is I spent some childhood years living on the coast of Vancouver Island; like you, no mosquitos there. (But also quite chilly these days, my parents say…)
Great post and interesting discussion and I can’t add much to the discussion on mosquitos. But, without wanting to appear a smart alec I am afraid your ipheions are not ipheions but Ornithogalum umbellatum aka star of Bethlehem. Possibly just as nice but different.
And here I thought they were the same thing! Thanks!!