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GARDEN PLOT

You must keep pesky rats at bay to keep a blooming garden

The green gage plum in my tiny garden’s back forty is in full bloom and alive with bees. One day there were so many I thought a swarm was coming through to lite somewhere nearby. Spring is here, and plums are some of the first to bloom. I’m still cleaning up the debris left by the horde of rats that have apparently been emerging from under the decks at night to eat all sorts of things they’ve ignored in winters past. The violets are attempting to bloom despite the fact that most have no...

Diane Lynch
By DIANE LYNCH · 1 min read

The green gage plum in my tiny garden’s back forty is in full bloom and alive with bees. One day there were so many I thought a swarm was coming through to lite somewhere nearby. Spring is here, and plums are some of the first to bloom. I’m still cleaning up the debris left by the horde of rats that have apparently been emerging from under the decks at night to eat all sorts of things they’ve ignored in winters past. The violets are attempting to bloom despite the fact that most have no leaves at all. (Diane Lynch photo / For The Ark)

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A version of this story appeared in the March 4, 2020, print edition of The Ark. See something wrong? Request a correction.
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