Ack! and Eww!

It has been rainy for several days, so this evening was the first chance I had to get outside and check on my garden. My garden has problems ---- first it was lily beetles, then the hail storm damage, and now many of my plants are dying or deformed from unknown sources. In the spring I was so optimistic about how beautiful my garden would be at this point, but now I almost dread going out to see what new ailment has descended upon my flowers.

So after all of this rain --- regular watering is good for plants --- I was hopeful. I noticed some good things first:

1. I don't see any lily beetles or their larva on the lilies. Lily buds are getting bigger.

2. One of the tiger lily plants (all of them sustained heavy hail damage to the leaves) has 5-6 bud stems.

3. There are multiple strawberries growing, one is starting to turn red.

4. My lupine is blooming! [I bought a plant about a month & a half ago, after failing to grow them from seeds the past two years --- they were the only plant that was eaten by a pest those years!]


After my initial enjoyment came "Ack! There's a slug!" Sure enough there was a slug munching away on my wilted-looking daisies. And after closer inspection, there were LOTS of slugs & wormy-things all over my daisies.


Thinking quickly, I grabbed a bowl of water and my garden gloves and headed out to start picking them off. After touching the first one (with my gloves of course), I couldn't help but think, "Eew! Slugs are really gross." In the end, I think I got at least 20 suckers off my four daisy plants. I hope that helps. I also set several "slug traps" (a jar with 1 T. cornmeal in it laying on it's side) for any that I might have missed.

Grrr... why must my garden have issues?!?