During the winter months I tuck thoughts of the garden away carefully in my mind in some obscure corner which I seldom reach into until the time that spring is nigh. But during those winter months, say around early March, I begin to collect eggshells. I could, of course, buy diatomaceous earth which would accomplish the same thing I plan for eggshells. Which is to keep my prized hostas out of the nasty little stomachs of snails.

I collect eggshells for that purpose; their sharp edges deter the snails since they can be destructive on their soft bodies. I wash the eggshells with warm water, allow them to dry, and then pound them into tiny shards and by the time I'm ready to use them, around late April, I'll have amassed quite a store, since we use quite a lot of eggs in our kitchen.

When the time is right, once the hostas have begun rousing themselves from their winter sleep, I scatter eggshells around them to deter the snails and preserve the foliage. I need quite a few eggshells since we have quite a few hostas of all sizes, shapes, colour and texture because they add so much to the garden. They are, in fact, our favourite plant.

This morning when I was out in the backyard first thing, my eyes were drawn to the largest of our hostas, a venerable plant of great size. I realized that something was feasting on the leaves, and it wasn't insects, bugs or beetles, much less snails. there were obvious marks of an animal enjoying a salad and the conclusion is that it must be rabbits. So I won't attempt to do anything about it. I have no wish to interfere with a rabbit enjoying a daily salad. I just hope the little fellow isn't harbouring ambitions to widen its smorgasbord of easy-to-get greens because I would be rather less than pleased to see other hostas being devoured, they're such a mainstay of our gardens.

But it's unlikely. If the rabbit (or rabbits) tend to frequent the backyard (we've seen them more often there than at the front of the house) they're unlikely (I think) to venture to the front to explore what else is on offer. Sigh.