I’d say “be careful what you wish for ” – except that it hasn’t rained enough. VERY aggravating to be so chilly and damp and still not enough moisture in the soil. But here it is guilt season, all the same … the edge of the lower yard a great splendor of invasives.

Like most of the people who have old houses, we have several huge honeysuckles . And there is a tall Russian olive, white flowers thick in the silvery leaves. The right thing to do is cut them down and keep them from spreading farther. But there are white violets underneath the olive, and even in the mist it smells glorious down there and what with this and what with that, I simply can’t do it.

THIS WEEK’S GARDEN TIPS: make lemonade out of the flat, even light. Take pictures – it’s great for photography - and while you’re at it, take a close look at the leaves in the perennial garden. Overcast weather brings out contrasts: between shades of green, rough and smooth, simple and complex. Note deficiencies. If necessary, make some up, so you have an excuse to go shopping … can’t beat it when being outdoors is unpleasant: no crowds, and the nurseries are very glad to see you. It’s definitiely the time to buy if you need spring flowering shrubs … you can see what the flowers look like, but they don’t seduce you into ignoring more important things like basic branch structure.

Got slugs? Tired of tried and true organic controls like handpicking at night, putting out beer for them to drown in , messing around with copper foil and diatomaceous earth? The easiest alternative is Sluggo, or Escar–Go , or any other brand of slug death based on iron phosphate. It doesn’t hurt anything but slugs and snails and it’s as easy to apply as the common slug poisons - metaldehyde and methiocarb – which are REALLY poisonous, big time, to just about everything that moves.

Plain old coffee is looking promising, too. Caffeine both repels and kills slugs and snails, but researchers don’t yet know how much is too much; so be cautious if you decide to experiment.