May Sisters’ Challenge; morbid

Back in April I blipped this beautiful Viburnum shrub which we have in our garden. A little while ago the leaves started to show black spots. Ah I thought….. blackspot. But Viburnums are not susceptible to black spot disease. Then the spots became larger and gradually took over each leaf which then withered and died.

I looked up the symptoms in gardening books, I double-checked on the internet, but could find only a couple of diseases that affect this plant. So, armed with a leaf as evidence I sought advice at our local garden centre. A salesman carefully examined the leaf and pronounced the culprit as a “bug”. Tiny white trails on the underside of the leaf, which I had missed, showed the meanderings of this destructive pest. “You need bug killer” and directed me to the bug killer display. I duly purchased the recommended chemicals in hope it would save the plant.

Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me in the garden centre, so will attempt to describe in words the display that caught my eye and which, I thought, would make a perfect subject for today’s challenge; ghoulish, macabre, unhealthy, gruesome, grisly, grotesque, ghastly, horrible, unwholesome, death-obsessed.

Piled high in bright red and yellow boxes were products bearing the legend Rat Kill Station. Next to them - Mouse Kill Station. I do wonder about the conversations that went on in the marketing department when they thought up these names.

But this was not all; shelves of products comprising glues (glues?), poisons and mechanical traps of all shapes and sizes, all cheerfully packaged and designed, I assume, to disguise their morbid purpose. Much like this bug killer.

I did try a black and white version which gave the container a sinister look, but decided against it. The business of dispatching pests has clearly had a makeover and it would be churlish of me to deny it.