Good morning! Summer is finally here, and the warmth is a wonderful change. I think the flowers are enjoying it as well. Some plants have been lagging from where they should be and, hopefully, they will catch up. But, dragging those hoses around is also the necessary job of the day.

I had a sprinkler going on a garden the other evening when my husband arrived home from a late meeting. I had set it so it would get not only the garden but would also spray across a rock ledge beside the garden.

When I came outside, he was studying my sprinkler placement (OK, ladies, you know that puzzled look). This particular ledge, one of many at my house, is filled with crevices and depressions of various sizes that gather and hold rain water. It is a perfect place for wildlife to grab a drink when the heat has dried up other resources. So, I told him I was simply filling up the water station for the critters. He just smiled and shook his head. Oh well, it makes me feel better to know they aren’t thirsty.

A wide variety of creatures visit this ledge which, along with water, also yields up the sunflower seeds that fall from bird feeders. It is a favorite spot for mourning doves and, unfortunately, crows like it, too. Squirrels and chipmunks are there daily, and I am sure local raccoons and skunks visit as well. I have seen the disappearing backsides of several larger creatures and, quite frankly, it is probably best that I don’t know of everything that visits.

Speaking of visits, I had a wonderful one last week with Earle Gilmore on the River Road in Greene. Earle, and his wife, Lorraine, moved into their new house about five years ago from Lewiston and have been planting gardens. Their property is blessed with a great stonewall and a number of large boulders placed here and there that make for picture-perfect garden backdrops.

I like visiting other people’s gardens for many reasons but one of the most enjoyable is to see how everyone puts a bit of themselves into their gardens – and how that makes each just a little unique. And, believe me, garden accents like statues, gazing globes, fountains, etc… tell you a great deal about a gardener. At Earle’s, I was instantly curious. Placed prominently and throughout a long border bed are dozens of mousetraps. Now I am usually quite good at figuring out why someone chooses particular garden art. They like gnomes or are fond of bunnies or are hooked on dragonflies – but mousetraps re just odd.. I just looked at Earle and then at the mousetraps, and he saw the question on my face.

“Do you have lots and lots of mice, or what?” I asked.

He smiled and replied, “Yep, black and white ones.”

I guess my face was blank because he said, “Skunks!”

He explained that they set, but do not bait, the traps. At night, when skunks come to dig, they set the traps off as they walk through the garden. The noise scares them away, and the garden is kept free of numerous holes and ruined plantlife. I think this is an amazingly creative way to deal with a skunk problem, so I thought I would pass it on to all of you.

I learned one other thing from Earle. When I arrived, he greeted me with a very fat envelope in his hand. Inside, precisely banded together in order by beds, were the tags from every plant in the gardens. He said he had labeled each plant with a tag and permanent marker, and the next spring, he discovered the marker wasn’t permanent. So, he just pulls out his envelope when he needs a lasting reference for plant information. Good idea, Earle!

My thanks to Earle and Lorraine for allowing me to stop by and look about. And thank-you, readers, for your good ideas.

Until next time, keep on top of the Japanese beetles and the red lily beetles, stop feeding the roses by Aug. 15 and enjoy the dahlias, asters and zinnias. Don’t forget to watch for fireflies on these wonderful warm summer nights and find those blackberry cobbler recipes. The season for them is short and they are soo good.

Happy gardening!

Jody Goodwin has been gardening for more than 20 years. She lives in Turner with her husband, Ike, her two dogs and two cats. She can be reached by writing to her in care of the Sun Journal, 104 Park St., Lewiston, Maine, 04243-4400 or by e-mail at [email protected].