Before we planted our vegetable garden, our backyard was home to a few wasps, some mosquitoes, and a few flies.
Other than that, Kobe the Labrador was pretty much all the wildlife our backyard knew.
That’s until we planted the garden.
Critters I’d never seen before suddenly appeared when the vegetation came.
Tomatoes and critters from our garden.
All of a sudden there were several species of bees and dragon flies and all kinds of pollinators and that’s a good thing.
But then, when we started to see fruit, I saw critters that made my skin crawl. Remember, I’m a city girl doing her best to convert to a good Southern country girl.
Something called spider ants or spider mites wanted to feast on our tomatoes and white flies came after the okra and cucumber. I did know that there had to be some type of worm out there and they’ve occasionally had some of our lettuce to snack on.
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I could’t help but think that my garden in many ways reflected life and the people in it. Here’s what our garden confirmed:
- When the seed inside you starts to sprout and flower, the right people will come along and help you produce. We’ll call them pollinators; they help you produce and manifest fruit. They can be kind of scary! They have stingers meaning they usually shoot straight…no chaser…in other words they’re not apt to sugarcoat anything on your behalf but they’re their to serve you nonetheless.
- Then there are pests. There sole purpose is to feast on your fruit and in some instances destroy the plant altogether.
- You need a balance of sun and water. Too much of either and your crop can be destroyed. Our lives should also be balanced. I love how Maya Angelou said, “Everything in moderation. Even moderation in moderation.”
So don’t kill the pollinators in your life…you need them.
Do determine if pests are there to feast on other pests or to destroy fruit and plant and treat accordingly and then be sure to strive for balance.
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Lisa N. Alexander is the author and founder of This Woman Knows and What Million-Dollar Brands Know. She is an award-winning filmmaker, director, producer, and writer and is the owner of PrettyWork Creative.
Wow- what a great way to look at it! As a city girl myself (even though we just bought a farm! eek!), I can definitely understand that uneasiness that comes from those critters… and how much more do I get nervous or uncomfortable with people who come to pollinate my life! Great reminder.
Ally! I’m in Texas and have seen some of the biggest critters I have ever seen in my life. There is a thing called a tree roach and that bad boy flies. *shudder* It makes grown men run screaming if they happen on it unexpectedly. You definitely want to recognize and bless the pollinators an know when to pull out the RAID for everything else! Thanks for sharing!