Weather: torrential rain battering the petunias
Slugs and snails culled: 7
Methods: salt, crushing
Injuries sustained during slug wars: 1 (fell backwards from squatting into raised bed)
Cat turds in the veg patch: 0
Copper tape has performed well at protecting this potted hosta but still needs daily surveillance against invaders. Rating: 8/10.
Gardening activities were rained off apart from slug patrols, so I decided to get revenge on the vintage crate episode and make my own. My husband (Le Francais) had an old wine crate to which I applied a blue stain. This couldn't have gone better at first: the paint was Farrow and Ball and the crate from a St Emilion Grand Cru. This surely beat the fruit crate. As the paint glided on, I imagined I could make a load of these, selling them on at plant fairs with signs saying 'extremely stylish! get your crate planter here.' Quickly it would grow into an internet company and then perhaps branch out as a nursery on the side. By the end of the afternoon I had already mentally drafted out my resignation letter for my day job. A satisfying life lay ahead of me, exhibiting my crates at plant fairs and enjoying a stand at Chelsea flower show.
The final effect was a paler than I imagined, a sort of baby blue. In a moment of horror I realised this wouldn't go at all well with the pale pink scabious I had planned to put in. Style disaster! Le Francais threw up his hands and instructed me immediately to sand the whole thing back and restain it darker blue. Hopefully this will go better with the scabious which I can mix in with some cosmos seedlings.
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