First Frost: A Secret Garden & Bugs from Hell

Last year, my Mom and I stashed caladiums and geraniums in my cellar for the winter. Unfortunately, we remembered them fairly late in spring, and despite lots of water, they didn’t seem to resurrect. We did notice some eyes (sounds gross) in the caladium corms, but the growing season was so far along that it didn’t seem to be worth the effort to foster them. We tossed the caladiums in a wooded tract of land behind a fence in an area where we have taken soil grafts for use elsewhere in our yards and tossed organic matter from the fish pond. The previous owners of home purchased that tract of land as a way to protect their privacy behind their home, so it has two fence rows full of trees with an entrance onto the road and two entrances into my side yard and back field. I always thought that area of my yard yearned to be a secret garden, but I had no idea how much until a few weeks later when my Dad informed me that the caladiums had flourished.

My secret caladium garden!

The caladiums remained a special attraction in that tucked away nook. I showed guests the secret, wild, little garden. It reminded me of a woodland cluster of wildflowers, except caladiums are tropical and definitely would never crop up in this area as a wildflower. Still they were beautiful all summer long in their special shady corner.

Meteorologists have warned that this weekend could be a killing frost. One of the perks about my career break is that I have the time and daylight hours to take action. Granted, I could have remembered the caladiums on a weekend during my working life, but I have a tendency to forget things that I should do with the changing seasons. This morning, well near noon, I went out and dug up the caladiums in the wooded tract and in flower pots at my back door and near my fish pond.

I prepared the caladiums for winter.

After digging the caladiums, I tossed them in paper bags and took them to the cellar. The corms will go dormant in the darkness and coolness of the cellar, but they won’t freeze. I also tossed two hanging plants containing caladium corms in the cellar. I hope they bring us more joy next spring and summer. I won’t give up so easily on underdeveloped corms, and I just might plant that secret garden again.

My other pre-frost activity consisted of cutting back peonies. I’m only two months behind on that one! About ten white peonies line the right side of my driveway, and they make a beautiful show every spring. Of course, at this time of year, they’re just green clumps with various trees trying to grow in the middle of them. Volunteer trees sprout up all over my yard and prove to be a constant battle. For whatever reason, they seem to love the peonies.

About halfway through cutting back peonies, I encountered a yellow jacket nest. At first I did not know it was a nest. I just knew that one pressed itself into the opening of my gardening glove and stung me on my wrist. The stinger and venom laid on top of my skin right next to an obvious puncture wound. I ran into the house and poured vinegar on it. The area swelled but didn’t hurt very badly. Now a few hours later, the area remains red, and the swelling has subsided greatly.

I question whether or not it was a yellow jacket. It certainly appeared to be one, but it was smaller. I tried to take a picture of the nest with hundreds of yellow jackets (or small bees) flying around, but they were moving so quickly that they didn’t register in the photo. In fact, looking at the photo made me question whether or not they were my imagination. My wrist tells me they are real. I’m really lucky more did not sting me. I had no idea there were so many until I returned to the scene of the crime.

Though you cannot see the hundreds of yellow jackets flying around, I assure you that this is the portal to hell!

A meme floating around on Facebook a few weeks ago commented on the fate of insects this time of year. The meme mentions wonderful things about fall like pumpkin spice lattes, football, fire pits, sweaters, etc. The punchline is that “bugs return to hell where the belong.” I have to admit that I am ready for those bees/yellow jackets/whatever to return to hell where they belong. They can take the mosquito that bit me last weekend along with them. I’m over it!

Welcome Jack Frost! Feel free to fly your Rankin & Bass self through my yard and whistle your frosty magic all over everything. Thank you for the relief you bring from mowing, biting/stinging bugs, and other yard nuisances. Hey yellow jackets, your nest is toast!