TALK ABOUT THE UNWELCOME WAGON! Bearers of bad tidings like this beware: Loving parents don’t like hearing that their kids are running wild, and especially not from the neighbors, “sorry.” This latest weekly utterance from Andre Jordan reminds me of another doodled pair of boots altogether (not the remarkably similar ones worn by the plant police above).
THE LECTURE that he’s been giving for a number of years is not-so-subtly called “Kill Your Lawn.” Ecological horticulturist Dan Jaffe Wilder knows that starting over and creating an entire native habitat instead of a lawn isn’t for everyone. But Dan just wants to grab our attention and get us to start to make some changes at least in the way we care for the turfgrass we do want in our landscapes. And maybe give up a little square footage of it to some other kind of more diverse planting, too, like the wild strawberries (Fragaria virginiana, inset). Alternative, more eco-focused styles of lawn care, along with some lawn alternatives is what he and I talked about on the podcast. Dan is Director of Applied Ecology at Norcross Wildlife Foundation in Wales, Massachusetts, and its 8,000-acre sanctuary. He’s also co-author with Mark Richardson of the book “Native Plants for New England Gardens.”
(Stream it below, read the illustrated transcript or subscribe free.)
But, aren’t they sometimes called “wildflowers”? :)
My mother is my plant police.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by some of the “unknowns” that were allowed to stay. Sometimes it’s easier to identify when the flowers finally come along!
I plead innocent the honeysuckle vine and the orange trumpet vine were here when we bought this house. I swear on a stack of plant catalogs I did not plant these.
Back when I was a beginner gardener, I had some soil filled plastic nursery pots from the winter before that I thought held re-emerging perennials. One contained a very pretty plant that I couldn’t recall buying (no tag, of course) but I put it into a nice ceramic pot & nurtured it carefully. It wasn’t until it bloomed (several months later!) that I recognized it as a tansy ragwort – very invasive weed.
Big DUH!
new house and so we sat and watched the big things grow – hoping they would be pretty. Then the neighbor came over and said ‘weeds’.
I guess I’ve never liked authority figures….”plant police”! Hmmphh! Go arrest a marigold somewhere!
So, I let the “weeds” develop a little bit longer than I would have normally, partly Margaret’s suggestion and partly my limited time in the garden this year….but I found volunteers of several of my favorite plants that I’d never suspected would reseed! The plant police would have had a field day, but I completely unsuspecting found a bumper crop of great plants! Faith….sometimes all it takes is time and faith!
I threw some wildflower seeds into our butterfly garden last fall, and this spring, got tons of new growth! They grew, and grew, and grew… and no blooms. Then I noticed that the empty field across the street had the same plants… definitely weeds. The new rule at our house, from my husband, is, don’t just let something grow because you “think” it might be pretty. I guess he’s entitled to his opinion since he had to help weed said butterfly garden! But I can’t resist the suspense and surprise… what is that little green thing growing there? I am guilty as charged!
Just for the record: I of course never have any weeds, nor any plants whose names I can’t recall here. (And if you believe that…) Hope spring eternal when you see a crop of something doing well, lots of healthy tiny babies; I still always pray they’re the desired plants instead of garlic mustard, bittersweet, or one of my other most-willing companions with whom I’d prefer not to reside.
Margaret ~ That cartoon is hilarious! Thanks.
I have designed and posted a DIY Seed Saving Envelope for 2009 to download and print. It’s on my blog today. Be sure and look. Enjoy this beautiful weather.
♥Rosemary
I think EVERY gardener has had a time, when they were not sure if a plant was something that was cultivated, or a weed. A new plant added to the mix, might have a leaf shape that is not recognizable, when it first emerges. I think a new gardener could make it easier on him, or her self, by making a scrap book of all the plants that they have in their garden. ALL they would have to do is take a few leaves off of each plant that they buy, and flowers, if the plant has some, and press them in a phone book, along with the name of that plant on a posted note. After the leaves are dry, they could glue the leaves, flower, and (name of plant) or plant tag from the plant on a piece of paper, and put it in a binder. If the leaves are to big to press, take a close up photo of the leaf and flower from said plant. NOTHING has to be artistic, or special, just something to remember what you have. ALSO the person could make some SIMPLE maps of their flower beds, to list what is planted where. This process could be done with BOTH perennials and annuals.
Fred, you’re kidding, right?