Hello lovers of all things green, You may remember the treat of learning about John Cabot Roses through my writer friend Koleen Garland who lives in Canada. Well, Koleen recently sent a saga about her dagnabbit rabbit dilemma sure to delight.
Koleen’s story:
I like to garden with a peaceful mind, happily digging my way to abundance and bounty. From one garden patch to another, I wend my way through paths and gates, humming my way along. But my idyllic outlook quickly loses its cool at the sight of one of those nose-twitching, ear-flopping, foot-thumping dagnabbit rabbits whose hairy little incidents have complete control over the harmonious relationship I have with my garden—and myself.
Koleen’s raised garden beds to deter dagnabbit rabbits.
I’m a great fan of raised kitchen gardens. Weeding and planting are a snap. While raised beds are no hindrance for bugs and grubs, I thought for rabbits, maybe? My hubby created four wonderful six-foot square eighteen-inch-high enclosures and filled them with loamy earth. Probably not high enough for our huge Jackrabbits, but maybe discouraging enough for those smaller pesky little cottontails?
Dagnabbit Rabbits!
I gardened halfway through the first season, constantly praising myself for being so cunning: no rabbit munches on the lettuce, a perfect green bean row, and carrot tops. What a triumph! And what wonderful produce, all so easy to reach. Snip, snip, into the trug, ready for lunch, Ahhhh, — AHHHH!!
There it was, right in front of me under a large kale leaf — yup, a perfectly made rabbit nest, and in it, five of the most beautiful little baby bunnies ever. Long eyelashes covered sleeping eyes, and soft silken ears tucked neatly beside them. Dagnabbit Rabbits!
Your lease just expired!
Well, sorry, mother rabbit, but your lease just expired! I moved the whole nest to the first tree I found down the nearest fence line; still, it was a good way off. Sheepishly, I checked them two days later and found them still there. Guilty complex contained, haughtiness humbled, and garden intact. The fall harvest came and went, and the garden tucked up for the long winter ahead.
It was a tough winter. When Canadians say a ‘tough winter,’ they mean that there are several times when you can’t see ten feet out your windows because of blowing snow, and it lasts on and off for a couple of weeks. One winter storm abated enough to see how our favorite roses survived the bluster. And when we looked closely, we realized that the roses had paths around them—yup, rabbit tracks.
My heart fell. The roses would probably survive, but they would be rakish. The rabbits would take the best of the growth. The buds would be gone. Those Dagnabbit Rabbits! They couldn’t see us behind the living room window, so they helped themselves and munched away, oblivious to my pounding on the glass. It was as if they were showing off – making their theatre debut.
A lesson of acceptance
Koleen’s gorgeous garden.
Spring was a long time coming. I braced myself for the disaster I knew I would see. What I found was that the snow had been so high that only the longest branches of the roses were nibbled off. It was as if some boss rabbit had stood back and orchestrated a pruning job for me. There were rabbit droppings all over the place, a solid brown mat. Then rain washed it into the earth, and my roses and perennials leaped ahead. Never had the John Davis rose bloomed so profusely. The allium was taller, the poker plant redder, and the sedum shot upward. Everything was in complete harmony, as if I had spent days and days working. And nary a rabbit was now to be seen.
I cannot say that I have changed my ways and now welcome those dagnabbit rabbits into my garden. But I have become a little more tolerant and a little less anxious. But I must admit, I am taking precautions. I haven’t got a dog, but I do have a small role of chicken wire fencing because I’m betting that if I have it, I won’t need it.
Thank you, Koleen, for sharing your story. May we all become a little more tolerant and a little less anxious about whom we share the world with. Garden Dilemmas? Ask MaryStone@gmail.com and your favorite Podcast App.
There’s more to the story in the Garden Dilemma’s Podcast: Koleen reading her full story will bring a smile:
Related Posts and Podcasts you’ll enjoy:
Ep 94. Starting an Organic Garden & DIY Soil Testing
Vegetable Gardening Basics and Starting an Organic Garden
