Patio preparation

Today I barreled outside around the crack of dawn midmorning with an enthusiastic urge to prepare the patio for the summer. I saw that I had some work cut out for me: leaves, sticks and junk, plus the little helicopter leaves that plunged into our table last fall, were all waiting for me. I spend a lot of hours out on the patio in the spring, summer and fall, so it was high time for some spring cleaning.

Before:

Eww!!

My chairs cheered me on and made nice shadows.

And after!

Yay!!

In the middle of my cleaning, I discovered that Josh and I actually have two window boxes just begging for flowers. (Yes, we moved in 18 months ago.) And that reminded me that, with warmer temperatures around the corner this week, I should get some herbs going. (If I'm sorely misguided, you can leave me in the dark.)  The trouble is that the window boxes - and most of the patio space - are in almost full shade.

I puttered over to my local hardware/garden shop and jackpot!  It appears from my in-store research that impatiens are good plants for the shade. I bought two four-packs, one for each window box, and picked out a few herbs, too, to put in a more sunny spot near the patio.

Voila!

Oh, yes, and the herbs:

Basil and spearmint. Not pictured: Dill.

Let's see if I can keep these guys alive this summer. Last year, I ran into a host of foes, ranging from my own inexperience to the previously mentioned patio shade to actual animal predators. Today I Googled "what is a squirrel's worst enemy?" which evolved into a more civilized search, "how to deter squirrels from a garden." But so far my action plan involves only crossing my fingers that they'll stay away. 

Any genius ideas, gardeners?  I know many of my readers have greener thumbs than I do. And tell me: what is the best gardening tip or advice you've ever gotten?

Vicious predators

Photos charting my plants' progress (or lack thereof) don't count as food pictures, do they?

Ever since I set my pots outside, I have been dealing with a ferocious enemy who presumably only does damage under the cloak of darkness.  I have not been able to catch him in the act.  But several mornings every week, when I step outside to nurture the herbs, I see his handiwork and then get really frustrated for such an early hour.

I've even started elevating the plants to higher locations, to no avail.  Look at what I found today:

The camera doesn't quite do justice, but an Animal (I have my eye on you, Squirrel) has been rooting around in the pots--not actually eating the basil or mint plants, but what appears to be just digging for the sake of digging.  Then he must gleefully chuck the soil out of the pot and onto the ground or chair, just to rub it in my face.  I'd actually prefer that he at least eat the plants so I can clearly identify a reason for the mischief.

Of course, there are bigger fish to fry in life.  But I would love to get to the bottom of this, especially since this is shaping up to be a summer-long battle.

I'd like to end this post on a positive note. In the face of adversity, who keeps truckin' along, (very) slowly but surely?  I love you, Basil.