Meet Mr. Basil....

Mr. Basil came into my life about 4 weeks ago.  He was a gorgeous little thing, full of beautiful green leaves.  I got Mr. B in my on and off resolve to be more kind to my environment and, not to mention my pocket.  The nobler cause for cultivating more plants would mean being more self sufficent, intoducing more greens and reducing commercial consumption.   Which in turn also means less spending at the supermarket.  There were also very encouraging visions of me and my family in the pink of health, being able to pluck herbs for cooking from our own garden, free of pesticides and chemicals.

I know nuts about gardening.  The only thing I have ever tried to grow myself were the bean sprouts I had to cultivate for a Biology experiment in school.  Mr. B had a small little pot when I brought him back.  I transplated him to a slightly bigger pot and added more soil.  I kept him in a very nicely shaded spot in the little garden area behind the kitchen and made sure I watered him twice a day. 

Mr. B when he first arrived....

However, in the following week, he started to turn a sickly yellow.  I knew I should have googled about how to plant basil even before getting him, but procrastination was always the Devil in my playground....Apparently, Mr. B was not originally from temperate climates like Europe or America (like what I thought), but instead came from hot humid places like India!  He needed lots of sunshine as well as rich, moist soil - not waterlogged, mind you, but moist.  But I also had to make sure I kept him sheltered from stong winds since Mr. B had really tender stems.  It was a real challenge looking for the perfect spot that meets all the criteria.  In the end, I had to rope in my Mum to help make sure that Mr. B is moved about in accordance to the weather!  Sheltered spot if heavy rains and wind, open spot on nice sunshiny days.  Mr. B started to prosper in all his green glory.  I was already planning to add more to the family....

Then it happened.  The savage attack on Mr. B.  In the middle of the night, something came and ate up part of Mr. B!!  I chanced upon the scene of the crime the next morning, horrified.  I suspected there were mice about, wreaking havoc on the nice fragrant leaves of Mr. B.  Since then, Mr. B's logistics arrangements included spending nights in my own bedroom!  Thinking that all would be well after this, I tended to Mr. B and checked on him daily.  Then it happened AGAIN!  This time, the crime was perpetrated in full daylight!  After moving Mr. B out from my bedroom to the garden one morning, I went about my own errands.  Upon my return, I discovered Mr. B, ravaged with broken stems and half chewed leaves.  What was the world coming to when even plants cannot be left alone to grow safely??!  I showed my Mum the evidence of the half chewed leaves as she initially didn't believe the first attack was due to mice.  Short of putting Mr. B in a fully covered electrical fence, I was running out of ideas.  Trapping the mice would have been another option, but these guys multiply as fast as rabbits....

My desperate attempt to ensure Mr. B's safety now includes moving him out to the front of the garden under the watchful eyes of my 12 year old German Shepherd, Roby.  At least while Roby isn't napping (which at his age is about 90% of the time), he can still help to keep the mice at bay.  All thoughts of getting other edible plants and herbs have been abandoned now till I get Mr. B healthy and strong.  Mr. B himself is bravely soldiering on, still sprouting new leaves and showing signs of recovery despite being attacked not once, but twice. 

It goes to show we should all thank our lucky stars for the power and resilience of Mother Nature, else we would all be starving by now!  By the way, any suggestion on how to keep Mr. B safe is most welcomed!