A Tsunami of snails and homeless bulbs

This sort of heading appeals both to lovers of horror films and bleeding heart liberals both key target groups for this blog.

21st April: Things I have been doing today.

🥀 Fending off snails: If you are an avid and attentive follower of this blog – which all good gardeners are; and I count you as one of course! Then you will remember that I planted out Marigold seedlings the other day with a Nostradamus like prediction that as soon as they were planted all the slugs and snails in the vicinity would arrive to feast within 24 hours. I advised, again with amazing prescience, that if you surrounded your seedlings with slug pellets then all would be well. The photo (below) shows a slug tsunami battered against the wall of pellets surrounding a poor little seedling. There is a wailing and rending of garments in many snail households tonight; but the seedlings sleep safely.

🥀 Homeless bulbs: About five years ago I bought 4 Flag Iris bulbs. Over the years I have cultivated and encouraged their procreation, and in a Malthusian nightmare I now have over a hundred. Unfortunately, I have to relocate some, because I am putting in some new plants; and like a rogue landlord I am evicting them. However, all is not lost I am relocating them to the equivalent of a new town, but that comes later. First, I have to ensure that they survive. To achieve this I cut them down about a week ago ( I should have left them longer, but the new plant offered a higher rent). Anyway, to ensure their survival you need to dig them up and leave some of the stem foliage intact. Brush off any loose soil and then place the bulbs in a shaded dry area (never in the sun). Your garden shed is ideal, but only if you have a high shelf or mice will eat them quicker than you can say mouse trap. I would have used my shed but it is too full of other stuff, so the photo shows them stored in our utility room – I told my wife they are onions! Leave them to dry for a few weeks then cut off the stems and any old roots then store them or plant them – we will come back to this.