A few weeks ago, I had a brain wave - check the post from May 6. I had grabbed a bag of spent coffee grounds from those nice people at Starbucks, and soothed my soul with a latte. What best to do with this black gold? Then I had a brain wave. Maybe they would discourage lily beetles, which every year turn my lovely lilies into a chewed, pooped on mess. So I sprinkled the coffee grounds onto the centres of every lily I have - and I have a lot.
At first I thought it might be the cold weather that was keeping them away, but even on a warm day there are now considerably fewer of the scarlet nasties - not even 10 percent of the numbers last year. The coffee has to be reapplied after a rain.
I would love to hear from someone in blog land who has also tried this experiment.
I was walking through a garden centre on a blustery cold day when this iris caught my eye. It's a colour I have never seen before. So of course I bought it and gave it a good home.
The blur at the bottom of the pic is the cat's tail. He's quite the publicity hog.
We haven't seen this beetle yet but have certainly heard about it.
ReplyDeleteI must remember to save my coffee grinds and start spreading it in and around our gardens.
Thanks for the tip!
That iris is a very beautiful colour, and I'm sure it has found a perfect home.