I don't know exactly what evolution was thinking when it developed snails. The French culinary expert might have a garlic-and-parsley-soaked answer up his sleeve, but I'm talking primarily about slugs (Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall of the River Cottage tried with real creativity and perseverance to make them tasty. He didn't succeed).
The (protected!) Roman snail.
Photo: Janina Laszlo
The fact that hedgehogs and runner ducks like them only helps me to get over the fact that they love to dig their way through my flowerbeds and cause severe losses among my plants. And there is certainly a species of person (gastropodist?) who is active in this area as a collector, lover and admirer. #notme
The main culprit is actually the slug. These cute little creatures like to feast on young shoots, while their colleagues with caravans prefer wilted waste and even the eggs of their fellow slime-eaters without buildings. The latter can therefore be assumed to have a certain usefulness, and they also have an aesthetic appeal, which cannot necessarily be said of the common Spanish slug.
Well camouflaged is half the battle.
Photo: My Cottage Garden
For ethical, aesthetic and moral reasons, one should not avenge the massacre of plants with a counter-massacre of snails, because firstly they are living creatures and secondly they also play a useful role in the ecosystem - because once the salad has been eaten, they also eat dead small creatures.
At the moment my morning routine is that I walk barefoot (early! very early!) through the dewy garden and, with the utmost concentration - if that's even possible when I'm half asleep - I do my best to avoid stepping on a snail. Instead I put them in a large black plastic bucket with a lid, usually with bits of nibbled dahlia or delphinium in it, of course, so that they're OK on the journey.
This bucket is then dutifully carried into the forest every day (after I have dropped the youngest off at kindergarten - assuming he can be released from my slimy fingers - I'll leave it to your imagination whether "he" means the youngest or the bucket).
And then released the snails.
But there is another way.
The easiest way to keep snails out of your garden with as little effort as possible is to choose plants that snails simply ignore (if only I had known that when I was planting my garden...).
Although some stubborn mollusks don't want to believe it and might sniff the plants or eat a hole pattern into the young greenery, this strategy can be quite successful.
The best thing to do is to create worry-free areas in your garden, i.e. plant individual beds entirely with snail-resistant flowers. This way you can keep a better eye on which plants you need to take care of (dahlia! cornflower! delphinium!) and you won't suddenly be surprised by defoliation.
Another option would be to use these plants to create slug barriers, hoping that they won't sniff out the Zinnia!, Petunia! and Lupine! behind the sentry plants.
Here is (my) selection of (cottage garden) plants that are generally shunned by snails (all information without guarantee*). Consider this list as an "open source" document (in software language, open source means that the source code is public and can be changed) and please write to me about your snail-proof plants, I'll be happy to add to them.
*One more sentence on this: There is a lively, almost heated discussion between my neighbor (three houses down!) and me about phlox, asters and hydrangeas. What has proven to be absolutely snail-resistant for her are star plants on my snail buffet.
1. ROSES
Snails are not suicidal, the thorns keep them from doing any pricking experiments. However, they also completely avoid thornless roses. So they are absolutely safe!
Photo: My Cottage Garden
2. PEONIES
Every now and then you can see a snail eating the fallen, wilted petals by the side of the road. I would love to put some salt and pepper on it out of gratitude.
The "fresh plant" - absolutely snail-resistant.
Photo: My Cottage Garden
3. SPRING BLOOMERS
Snowdrops, wood anemones, grape hyacinths and forget-me-nots are not eaten, which may be because snails are not yet active at this time of year. Now and then I have fished one out of a tulip leaf.
Photo: My Cottage Garden
4. COLUMBINE
Photo: My Cottage Garden
5. POISONOUS PLANTS such as foxglove, lily of the valley and monkshood
Photo: Pixabay
6. GERANIUMS (also PELARGONIUMS)
Unfortunately, they are not particularly useful as a source of food.
Photo: My Cottage Garden
7. CARNATION
Photo: My Cottage Garden
8. STORCHENSCHNABEL
Avoided by the snail, loved by the bee.
Photo: My Cottage Garden
9. WOMAN'S COAT
Photo: My Cottage Garden
10. LAVENDER
Photo: Pixabay
11. HYDRANGEA
Photo: My Cottage Garden
12. SEEDHEAD
and other plants with thick leaves such as houseleek and spurge.
Photo: Pixabay
13. SPURFLOWER
Photo: Antonia Mergen
14. BEARD FLOWER
Photo: Pixabay
15. WOLLZIEST
Photo: Pixabay
16. BERGENIA
Photo: Pixabay
17th HONORARY AWARD
Photo: My Cottage Garden
18. CHRISTMAS AND LENTENNIAL ROSES
Photo: My Cottage Garden
19. SUN BRIDE
Photo: Pixabay
20. YARROW
Photo: My Cottage Garden
22. AUTUMN ANEMONES
There it is again, my beloved autumn anemone. If you want to read more about it, you can find my "Ode to the Autumn Anemone" HERE .
Photo: My Cottage Garden
23. STERNDOLDEN
Photo: Pixabay
24. ASTILBE
Photo: Pixabay
25. ELF FLOWER
Photo: Pixabay
26. PURPLE DOST
Photo: Pixabay
27. BLUE IRIS
Photo: My Cottage Garden
28. PURPLE LOOSESTRIPE
Photo: Pixabay
29. INDIAN NETTLE
Photo: Pixabay
30. CATNIP
Photo: My Cottage Garden
31. POLSTERPHLOX
Photo: Pixabay
32. WIESENKNOPF
Photo: Pixabay
33. VERBENA BONARIENSIS
Photo: My Cottage Garden
34. BALLOON FLOWER
Photo: Pixabay
35. BOWFLAKE
Photo: Pixabay
36. GIERSCH
A little gardener's joke on the side. But of course they leave it alone.
Photo: My Cottage Garden
37. NIGHT VIOLE
Photo: My Cottage Garden
38. BEACH LILAC
Photo: Pixabay
39. GRASSES
Even though I don't think grasses have any place in cottage gardens or farm gardens (they just take up too much space for flowering flowers), I always have fun discussions about them with Alex Lehne (ZDF Garden Duel and garden designer), who took this photo by the way. Thank you very much for that. And for the amusing discussions.
Photo: Alexandra Lehne Gartendesign
40. FERNE
Not really a cottage garden plant at first glance either. But I have it and love it, combined with masterwort, stork's bill and columbines in shady garden areas. Oh yes, and of course a few elves and fairies too.
Photo: Pexels
And a few final sentences.
Vegetables and snails are a topic in themselves.
Growing in raised beds is a first protective measure, but unfortunately not a guarantee. Lettuce is one of the favorite foods of slugs, which is why really hardy gardeners plant extra lettuce to keep the gluttons away from other plants.
But there are also types of lettuce and vegetables that have a real chance of survival: lamb's lettuce, endive and red lettuce (has anyone ever tested this? Please share your experiences!) as well as plants with a strong smell like onions and garlic. Radish, radishes, celery, beetroot, chives and tomatoes are also not on the menu.
Intensely scented herbs full of essential oils such as rosemary and thyme are also not well received by snails. Be careful with basil, which seems to be quite popular.
I have also noticed that snails only seem to go after "damaged" plants. Once a dahlia has been eaten, it will happily carry on eating it, while the neighboring plant, which is intact and intact, will not be touched for the time being. Can you confirm this?
And you can find further suggestions in the fight against the voracious slime creatures in my video HERE .