Stowaway

Meet ‘Willy, the Ant’ – a true explorer of the wild. And his special green gardening choice …

When I moved to Berlin, I had to leave behind a large garden. The only thing that fit into my new apartment was a planting box to go on the window sill. Fascinating neighborhood, wonderful cultural scene, cobblestone streets, horse stables and an original blacksmiths store (now run by two ladies), a gorgeous baroque park … tiny kitchen, no balcony.

But in that planting box I brought a very special plant. It is the family mint that has been with us for four generations now. It is a mild, almost sweet mint. Its origin is vaguely described as ‘Greece’ in the family chronicle. The story of how it made its way from the Mediterranean up to the North Sea varies from one tale teller to the other.

Anyway, the mint made its way to Berlin. And there it stood on the windowsill of my kitchen overlooking a small urban backyard with a former stable for chicken (and a pig, as it was the custom in all the major European cities in the 19th and early 20th centuries). It did get enough sun, and the birds in the vicinity were really interested in it.

Enter Willy, the Ant.

As it turned out, the plant was not the only being I had brought with me. In the planting vessel, a small colony of miniature black garden ants had traveled along. And they were rocking the premises. In a tiny plant-box on an isolated windowsill in a big city up on the fourth floor. Amazing.

Of course, it was not all friendship and singing lovely tunes together, because these little guys had an agenda of their own. They had not traveled alone either. They brought their travel food with them. Yes, you have guessed it right: in the summer after we (me and the ants) moved into that apartment, I detected suspicious movements on my mint. The ants had planted aphids and were lovingly tending to them. Because they really care about the sugary dew the aphids produce.

To cut a long story short … I used stinging nettle tea mixed with a little ginger on them. This kept the number of aphids down and I still got to enjoy the mint. I might have put an occasional spoon of sugar on the windowsill to keep the little state in the box up and running … .

These days, Willy and his chums have expanded their business. On our balcony. We still coexist. Although I am quite sure that the little squabblers do not like my works with the aphid decimation. But I have a lot of blooming herbs on the balcony. So they have partially switched to nectar as a sugar source.

Still exploring the unknown …

They were rocking the premises. In a tiny plant-box on an isolated windowsill in a big city up on the fourth floor.

Side Notes:

• It was hard work to capture Willy in action. Out of 30 pictures, he is really visible only on three. On the others he is always in and out of it. Typical shady character – must have a lot of practice in hiding … 😉