Sunday got off to a bit of a rough start, about 3 a.m. one of my greyhounds started to run around and whine. I got up, thinking he needed to go out and opened the door – only to hear a strange sound crashing around in the garden. Decided to turn on the security lights and low and behold, I spied an Armadillo. The shelled rodent (IMO) digging beside the metal screen enclosure on our porch, bashing his shell against the metal. Driving my poor dog mad and depriving both of us our beauty sleep.
As the dog ran out the door the foolish Armadillo ran into the fenced part of our yard – who knew an Armadillo could out run a greyhound?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armadillo
Cartoon time 3 a.m. My backyard. Starring Alan the Greyhound. Shown below in his usual state. Alan is the brown dog, the other one has no interest in getting up at 3 a.m.
A few hours and cups of coffee later, I went to look for vase components in the garden the Armadillo had been digging in. Sure enough, he or she had been overturning Bromeliads, a favorite pastime for some reason made better by overturning burgundy or spotted Bromeliads. By trial and error, I eventually found out cardboard and mulch will keep the armadillos away, needs another application. Sigh.
Seeking the components of a vase, I noted the Spathoglottis is flowering again. I know this really sounds like a disease, but is actually a lovely little Ground Orchid called Caberet. This is the second round of flowering since I planted it in January. It is the purple flower in the vase. The blue flowers are Porterweed, the jury is still out on which one and today it is really shedding for some reason. The yellow flowers are Lantana, Silvermound would be my guess for variety. The purple spotted foliage is from a Bromeliad the Armadillo overturned ‘Hallelujah’ Billbergia. A sprig of fern finishes the vase.
The Armadillo’s work last night:
The Shrub Queen 
Wow! Armadillos seem incredibly exotic to me maybe because I remember watching a natural history program about them when I was very young, maybe about 6 or 7. Hope you manage to control them with the cardboard. Your vase is very elegant and with so many interesting flowers
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Thank you, Christina, I think the Armadillos are controlling me!
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I feel your armadillo pain. We named ours Phyllis – (phyllis diller) and have done our best to encourage her to relocate. I thought we’d succeeded until an early morning a few weeks ago when I saw two armadillos fighting in the lot beside us. And then I realized they weren’t um, fighting. We also have two gopher tortoise dens. Florida likes to keep things interesting. Beautiful vase. Love me some porterweed.
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This is an anonymous Armadillo, though I love the name Phyllis Diller! I have tortoises, too, and am not sure where they live but they pass through.
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What exciting activities for 3 o’clock in the morning!! Not quite sure how the carboard will help…? That ground orchid is especially pretty and I love the vertical accents you have provided – thanks for sharing.
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Too exciting. The cardboard, not sure why it works, I would think they can’t dig through it. Thank you.
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A pretty exotic vase…and an exotic tale armadilloes….we have squirrels, and slugs and snails so no competition!
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Thanks, we have squirrels, slugs and snails too!
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Oh my! I knew armadillos plague gardeners in Texas but I wasn’t aware that their territory extended into Florida. Every garden has a horrible critter – or 2 or 3 – I guess. Your arrangement is striking. I love the ground orchid.
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Thanks, Kris, I love the Ground Orchid as well and think I need more! The Armadillos not so much.
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Gardeners have to put up with a lot but hadn’t considered armadillos might be a problem for you. Beautiful flowers.
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At least I don’t have that problem.
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If it’s not one thing, it’s another.
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Funny tale, although I expect not at the time! Dratted critters, like skunks digging around but not as stinky. Well, at least you made the best of it – your arrangement is beautiful – the bromeliad and orchid complement each other well.
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Thank you, dratted is right. Love your new picture.
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Thank you, Amelia. An update was overdue.. 😉
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Oh my goodness! Armadillos seem like animals from another world to me! I hope a new layer of mulch will do the trick and your sleep is not disturbed again! Love the vase full of beautiful exotic blooms! 🙂
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Thanks, meanwhile the invasive ferns have taken over!
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