I guess you are special to the armadillos. We have a friend that we invite to parties during the spring when the mosquitoes are out. They always hang out with her and keep the other guests happy. The same must be true for you with armadillos. Be grateful that you have some friends.

I have a Boxer and a ShiTzu, but my Boxer is too old and sick to scare away any rogue critters, and my ShiTzu won't patrol at night. I've found that leaving my porch lights on help deter the armadillos a little. I heard a noise the other night - thought it was the armadillo turning over the stones in my garden walkway - so I headed outside with a flashlight to scare him away...but I was greeted by neighbors with their flashlights, carrying shotguns and chasing an armadillo into a drainage pipe. Next night - same thing. It's not pretty around here after dark. And the armadillos keep coming back. Did you know that armadillos always give birth to four babies, and they are either all male or all female? And they all hang out in my garden.

Well I have a sure fire method. No critters get into my back yard and end up alive. We have some squirrels, possums and cats but my dogs keep everything out. I have two border collies and they are very territorial. Anything within the fence is fair game. In fact they even risk life and limb just walking around the top of the fence though I think they sometimes do it just to taunt the dogs. However one dog can almost get over the fence so they sometimes have to jump for it. We even have a track around the yard where they "patrol" all the time. I'm sure an armadillio woud not be a proble to them. Maybe I can rent them to you for a while or you can look after them when I am on a trip.

Ahhh, I see. I am impressed with the 2500 gallon water tank catching water from the roof...very green idea, indeed. I definitely need to learn more about what specific types of plants might do better in my garden, given my growing conditions (too much sunlight, too many armadillos sneaking in at night, and not enough time, energy and effort spent on my part maintaining my flowerbed!) Speaking of armadillos, how do we stop them from rooting in the garden, knocking over statuary and kicking out all the mulch? (My neighbor says the shotgun method is a sure-fire way, but that's not for me. My other neighbor tried traps, and that didn't work.) Any tried and true home remedies for keeping armadillos at bay?

These are pictures of flowers that have appeared in my garden since the beginning of the year. Some only come out for a couple of days others longer. I wish they would all last the whole summer. Some are so small and are only the size of a fingernail, pictures can be a little deceiving, see the ladybug. The heat is very tring on the garden, I water every day, I have a 2,500 gallon water tank that catches water from the roof. Better water for the plants, saves money too, its green. I also have lots of shade, big trees, umbrella's and shade cloth to cut down the ferocity. It still is not an easy job. My begonias have suffered immensly and most flowers I have brought in under the patio where its cooler. I really enjoy my garden, its an oasis I retreat to every morning and work in many evenings. A garden is a thing of beauty and a job for ever. Robbert

Beautiful!One question: how do you keep your flowers from dying in the triple digit heat of the Texas summer? I have baked begonias, fried pansies and roasted roses in my garden.