Back in January I bought a Venus Fly Trap as a gift for a friend (I make such heartfelt gestures from time to time), and decided that I wanted to find it some food.
So I went looking around my front verandah and garden for some insects or other bugs I could feed to it (I admit, I would like to see a Venus Fly Trap leaf close around it’s prey) and to my chagrin, I could find nothing.
Which got me to thinking that maybe those environmentalists were right, that the Insect Apocalypse is upon us and all those bugs we usually regard as a nuisance when we take their role in the balance of nature for granted have been disappearing at an unhealthy rate.
Since then, I have seen plenty of bugs in my garden, to my relief, and even mosquitoes buzzing around my home at night (thankfully my blood group is not as attractive to getting stung by mozzies).
But I did reflect on this, and how maybe it is time to make my garden more bee friendly. I am not going to go so far as to get a full beehive (I know someone who has though) – I don’t like honey very much. But I asked my mother to grow some lavender cuttings for me from one of the bushes she has in her garden.
Hence this morning, I have just planted four lavender plants in my front garden along the fence line, to form the start of a lavender hedge for my home. That is just the start. I will plant more cuttings and grow those , until my front fence line is fully covered by lavender plants.
It is a little thing, but I don’t like roses, and I want to do my bit for the survival of bees, even if I don’ get to feed them to a Venus Fly Trap.
Lost For Words! 
I look forward to seeing your garden upgrades when we are allowed to socialise again even if in small numbers.
Since retiring, I have spent a lot more time in the garden, which in my usual style has been manicured to an inch of its life.
My ruby grapefruit now has fruit on it for the very first time and I am watching with great interest one generous sized fruit ripen. Hopefully, when it is ready to pick I get to it first before the dog who managed to steal my only one tomato of the season (long story behind the tomato plant which I won’t go into).
I have been lucky enough to have both European and native bees in my garden zipping around between my roses and lavender in the front yard and my citrus in the backyard.
And so, it is possible to not be a member of the Greens and still have an interest in nature/environment.
Gardening gloves unite!
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At the rate this crisis is evolving, I expect that by the time I can have guests over again, my lavender hedge will be fully grown!
Grapefruit is about the only citrus tree I do not have – my backyard has 4 oranges, 1 lemon, 1 lime, and 1 mandarin. I also have a few orange trees in the front yard, but those are not as mature and will take a few more years before they start to fruit.
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