Pineapple Guava

I bought a new plant from my friend, Tom. He's been working on creating a very nice organic nursery for years. I've joked, over time, about all the shrubs and unusual plants throughout my gardens that I've purchased from him; I refer to those plants as being part of "Tom's Memorial Garden."

A month ago, I bought a plant called a Pineapple Guava from him. It's native to Southern Brazil, Argentina, and other parts of South America. It will do well in our climate, although it probably won't produce any fruit. That's OK...I'm growing it for its evergreen leaves and pretty summer flowers.

Today, I put it in the ground! I decided to place it in a raised bed along our back patio. First I had to pull out the overgrowth of spearmint in the bed and really give everything a good watering. Of course, I have a collection of birdhouses on the back fence which have no birds. Instead, they are filled with wasps! Big, Fall-starving, nasty wasps! While I was working away, I accidently bumped one of the birdhouses. 6-10 wasps shot out and nailed me! I usually scream while I'm being stung, but I didn't this time! I just turned my hose on myself, as I was running. I tripped over the wheelbarrow, but didn't even get a scratch! I ended up with only 2 stings, which is good! One was on my forearm and one on my hand. I've been stung on my neck and shoulder before, which is soooooooooo painful.

It's weird. We don't kill the wasps around our place. They eat so many little gnats and bugs that I find them a helpful addition. I just have to remember to be on the lookout...