The insects really love my garden. Unfortunately, they love it too much! This is a badly munched Maximillian Sunflower seedling that has seen better days.

Raised Bed Garden, 1 Month Update: The Ugly
As I fully expected, insects and other animals have come to feast on my seedlings. Aphid adults have flown to my new Gladiolus leaves, which are pushing their way out of the soil right now. They bear live young, which I have been mashing as I find them. Cucumber beetles, different larvae and other insects have come to munch on the leaves of so many of the seedlings, and ants are working on sawing up pieces of my Maximillian Sunflowers to bring back to their nests!

I am trying various tactics to thwart the insects. Spraying a mixture of garlic and tabasco sauce is working wonders on my seedlings to keep bugs from munching. I'll be putting down circles of cinnimon to keep ants from farming my sunflowers. It's a love-hate relationship because insects make wonderful photographic subjects, but I don't want them to eat my plants! SHOO!

Below are pictures of some of the damaged seedlings.

This is a once magnificent-looking Morning Glory seedling, now riddled with holes and munch-marks.

Something has sampled this Gladiolus leaf and created a series of tiny windows. Though artistic, I am not the least bit impressed!

This poor Cosmos seedling is doing its best to grow but an insect has injured it grieviously. With a bit of luck and some garlic-pepper spray, it may survive.

Oh dear. This once stunning Russel Lupine seedling had become a scarred warrior. However, you can see its secondary leaf is undamaged, and this plant has been recovering quite well since this attack.

Look at these poor Zinnia seedlings! Chomped up and full of holes, they are trying to recover from being tasty meals for several ravenous insects!

Next: Part 9—Dreams of a Big Flower Garden: We Have A Pumpkin Patch!!