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Re: [SHADEGARDENS] Flowers

Hi; someone was writing about executing deer for eating azaleas.
Regardless of the reason for the killing, it is a necessity because of
overpopulation of deer and a lack of animal predators in many areas.  I
recall the trauma of seeing starving deer in fields when I was a child,
before the state-sponsored autumn hunts (these are not held every year,
just when the population has gotten out of hand).  Deer in such numbers eat
everything, not just azaleas as we all know, destroying habitat and
eliminating food for many, many other species.

I read that somewhere out west (California?) wolves were reintroduced to
'restore' the eco-system.  After many years of idolizing the wolf, our
ecologists forgot that a wolf-less eco-system had been in place for
probably over 100 years in that area.  As there is not nearly enough prey
there to sustain them, people are learning where all the 'big bad wolf'
legends came from, as these large predators breed, use up resources, and
begin their move into the backyards of country-dwelling humans.  I know I
have committed a major political offense by saying that, but try to imagine
living in an area where you might be out in your garden, leaving the
garage, etc., and frequently find yourself in the company of one or more
stray dogs with whom you are unacquainted.  A wolf is a lot larger, wilder,
and less friendly to humans than
a dog, and can also be rabid or hungry.

I am bringing up the wolf story because it is more vivid,
emotionally-wrought illustration of the same principle at work with slug
AND deer overpopulation.  Seldom does one see a field, woodlands, or bog as
thick with large-leafed slug-perfect plant species as one sees in our
gardens.  We create eco-systems that allow slugs to overpopulate. If we let
the slugs proliferate, weakening our plants, then our gardens would be
prone to disease and pest damage, and fail to compete successfully with
native species otherwise known as weeds (well, except for kudzu).  We could
protect them with synthetic pesticides or
practically-as-ecologically-hideous organics such as rotenone.  But if not,
then our gardens would return their natural state eventually.  So why even
have a garden; it is NOT a 'natural' ecosystem.  I say that if humans are
going to create situations where a paticular species overpopulates, then
they are responsible for culling, in order to protect other species.


Sheila Smith
mikecook@pipeline.com
Z 5/6
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