Tip Toeing through the Stilettos

[NancyL]

The Stiletto's that I have are doing grandly and are in full bloom now. They are along a dry stack stone wall that I did 7 years ago when my back was a lot stronger. In the harsh UP MI climate most plants along any of the stone walls thrive. I originally built them to protect some Zone 5 Hollies that my husband bought. These Stilletto's are over performers - we have had less than 3" of rain this summer and they are doing great with no additional water. Here is a cute photo from yesterday, the chipmunks hang out in the wall waiting for feeding time.

[NancyL]

I guess I forgot to do that add photo - here it is

[Chris_W]

Oh what a great picture! I was wondering who would be tip toeing through the Stilettos

[Pieter]

Here's hopin' that rascal doesn't do to your 'Stiletto' what his northern cousins did here in B.C......

There are 2 kinds of vermin in our yard, rats, and rats with fuzzy tails aka squirrels. Rats have been around for a good many years and have mainly gone after my lily bulbs. Squirrels are a fairly recent sight around our yard and while we have never seen them eat hostas, I just cannot believe it is the rats that are behind this damage. I have several plants that have been de-nuded like this....

[sweetee]

You know, they're so darn cute, but man if I have to pull one more sunflower or clump of safflower from my hosta pots ...
I just barely saved my Liberty Bell after someone dug it up and broke the roots off of almost every eye! It had to be a chipmunk with good taste. Why not choose something easy to replace like blue cadet?
Good photos!

[ViolaAnn]

I'm jealous that you have a 'Liberty Bell'. I tried for years and nobody had them available in Canada. The one nursery got them, but by the time it reached me it had stabilized to 'Bell Ringer'. I direct a church handbell choir; so that name was OK, but I wanted the streaked plant.

[sweetee]

Viola, my Liberty Bell isn't very large. I almost lost it over the winter. I was so happy to see it come back. It was only about 3" tall with multiple eyes when the chipmunk separated most of the roots from the eyes. It looks like it might survive but I'm going to have to really protect it this winter. I don't think I'll get any seed this year.
Hey, thanks for letting me know that the stabilized version is Bell Ringer. I never knew what it was called.
If you ever do find it, it almost always produces some streaked seedlings. Good Luck.

[sweetee]

oops, sorry I called you Viola and saw that you go by ViolaAnn. My apologies. Sweetee

[ViolaAnn]

Not to worry. I'm used to being called all sorts of things.

[NancyL]

The chipmunks up here in MI leave most of my stuff alone, they did tear off part of a Sedum I had potted to bring home. I feed the chipmunks in Michigan - we are in the middle of nowhere so don't see people for a week at a time sometimes - the chipmunks brighten up my days in the garden.

The ones in MD are pests - it is much more closed in and they have less succulent stuff to eat. A few years ago they were biting off my Hostas so badly that I resorted to using the fiberglass batting that I was stuffing in vole holes in between the petioles, it helped some but it looked like a mess.



Grand Tiara

[sweetee]

That's a good idea for the vole holes. So far, they're not my issue, but the chipmunks and squirrels who like to aggravate the dogs
They never eat my plants, even my succulents (probably because they have enough bird food I put out). What they do is dig holes in all of my pots and plant the safflower I give the birds. One day, I pulled out 11 clumps of safflower in different pots in one day.
Screen on top of my pots helps a lot, but only have them on some larger pots. The nice thing; I have tall sunflower in my yard I never planted

[NancyL]

I have a lot of problems especially in MD where the chipmunks or squirrels will smell the human scent which equals bird seed on a newly planted plant and then pull it out of the ground thinking there is seed under it. Even though the Niger seed is supposed to be sterile these ugly thistly plants come up near our finch feeder or when I throw it on the ground for the Juncos.

[sweetee]

They sure are productive creatures. If we could train them to plant hosta seed, can you imagine how many hosta we'd have?

[NancyL]

Around my place I don't need any more help planting hosta seeds, this wet year they are coming up everywhere - all plain green. One thing that chipmunks do that is helpful is eat grasshoppers. It was a bad year for grasshoppers in MI and the chipmunks had many to snack on. Last year I got a photo of one eating a snake so if you don't like snakes that can be helpful too.

[sweetee]

Maybe that's why I don't have grasshoppers or snakes. Never saw a snake here and rarely see a grasshopper. Who would have thought the little guys could do that?