Yes, I believe we are getting too much rain. As I was examining my pots of flowers, and hosta beds in search of the dreaded slugs, who are eating holes in the leaves of my hosta, I found my plants are too wet. We have had a lot of rain during the past three months. Just take a ride in the country and you will find rows of corn and soybeans standing in water. The urban streams are high and muddy. I can't  even imagine the feeling a farmer gets when he look at the fields, especially the low land. This is the third year in a row that we have had a abundance of rain in June.

When you get a chance, check your flower pots to see if the drainage holes in the bottom are open. At the same time you turn the pot on edge check for slugs, earwigs or whatever those grey bugs that have hard shells and roll into a ball, are called. It helps if your pots are not sitting on the ground. If you have a problem with slugs try laying a old piece of wood in your beds and check it first thing in the morning. Slugs thrive in warm wet weather. Make sure to take a container with either soap, ammonia, vinegar or a combination of some concoction, plus a straight piece of wood to scrape off any undesirables (paint sticks work great). You may also want to wear gloves. I have found some pretty impressive slugs, at least two inches long. I also have had several ideas of keeping slugs out of my hosta but I want to try them out first. Maybe slugs can be used for bait when fishing. Maybe we can get a answer from a fellow sports writer for MyZeeland.com. I will wait and report if he reads this column.

Several weeks ago I had the opportunity to help distrbute flats of flowers to home owners who live in Holland on Tulip Lane. I took some pictures and hopefully will post them this weekend. What fun we had. Of course there will always be some people who don't even live in Holland who come and load truck beds and try to take much much more than one yard can hold.

Also coming is a experience with Holland Recycle.com that turned out better than expected. It has been a fun summer so far. I love watching people and how things can take a different curve from what we expected.

Be sure to go to the Zeeland Market on Friday to see the array of flowers and veggies. See you there.

From the Garden Lady until next time -

 Carol Gras