In the garden there is good and evil

My camera allows me to look at the garden more intently. This way I am always reminded of all the creatures that make up the ecosystem that is our garden. And there is always a balance of good and bad. As in the Garden of Eden, there could not be the fruit without the snake.

A ladybird eating aphids, cleaning the rosebud systematically

Photographing the roses I struggled to get a bloom without a bee in the picture. They were fervently gathering pollen. I could imagine them lying on their backs making pollen angels. Seeing the bees gives me hope for another season. I am concerned for their well-being. One garden alone is not going to ensure their survival, but everyone’s gardens can. We need wider action to actively protect them in the interests of our vegetables, fruit and flowers.

With the good bees, there is also unfortunately the ‘evil’ of aphids and rose beetles. Aphids are among the most destructive insect pests in the garden. Feeding on the sap of young rose-buds and leaves, they affect the whole rose display negatively. We tend to spray a solution of dish-washing soap and water to try and reduce their numbers and not affect the ladybirds and birds feeding on them.

Damage caused by aphids is evident in decreased growth rates, mottled leaves, yellowing, stunted growth, curled leaves, browning, wilting, low yields and death. The removal of sap creates a lack of vigour in the plant, and aphid saliva is toxic to plants. Aphids frequently transmit disease-causing organisms like plant viruses to their hosts. I have decided that aphids are an ‘evil’ menace and I am very happy to see the ladybirds feasting on them.

A rose beetle busy destroying a rose

The ladybirds are very welcome in our garden, feeding on aphids and scale insects. Seeing the little black spotted red, orange and yellow angels in the rose garden gives me hope in the fight against aphids and scale insects. The Afrikaans name for a ladybird describes it the best, ‘Lieweheersbesie’. Loosely translated back into English it is ‘sent from God’. That is so true.

Roses with rose beetle damage

One insect that must be the most ‘evil’, I can normally smell before I see it. They can destroy rose blooms in no time leaving the rose petals destroyed and shriveled. These big yellow and black beetles lately have new friends helping them in their destruction of the rose blooms in the form of smaller black and white beetles. The yellow and black beetles lay their eggs in manure and compost heaps or among plant roots. The pupae develop inside large, egg-shaped protective clay shells.

When we harvest compost from the compost bins, we may encounter many of the large white grubs. I normally feed these to the Fiscal shrike who eagerly watches the cleaning of the compost bins from a good vantage point close-by.

On hot days we just pick the beetles off the roses by hand and kill them. Killing them is not easy because they are very tough.

The garden is filled with good and evil and nowhere is it more visible than on a hot autumn day through the lens of my camera.