CONSIDER THE LIFE OF A SELF-SOWN like Nicotiana, which deposits a prodigious crop of potential offspring year to year but simply cannot guarantee what those kids will look like. I never have the heart to rogue out or behead the ones that don’t “match,” do you? And what about you, my dear friend Andre Jordan, master of the doodle?
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.”
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Oh no, I never have the heart to remove something that’s made it’s way where it wants to. I like my “jumpers”. I always joke that after I’m gone; as in “Life after People” style, my whole back yard will be nothing but salvia, Texas sage mostly. When a plant goes rogue, I usually just let it grow where it wants to (Unless it is so overwhelming that it becomes dangerous for it’s bed mates)…I figure It’s there for a reason, Something in the Universe made it start where it’s supposed to be (sounds kinda “woo woo”, don’t it?)
o, those poor yellow heads, to be pink provides a long life while yellow, poor things, don’t even make it to the compost pile, straight out with the trash!
I usually think about pulling those not matching out then leave them where nature planted them. This is one of the uncountable reasons why my garden does not look like Ms. Jekyll’s. This year I have increased my tolerance and left a self sown gourd and a tomato in a flowerbed.
I used to have a neighbor that was a “yellowist”. Her yard was conventional but very lovely. However she always planted the same “shades of pink” impatiens lining her driveway and did not allow yellow flowers anywhere. I always wondered if she thought my daffodil spring spectacular was vulgar?!
This is my first year growing nicotiana. I’m looking forward to seeing where it decides to live next year. I rarely move or weed out volunteers- so much for my color scheme plans!
Now I pull the majority of self sowers up. In my last garden , these yellow false sunflowers took over my whole entire garden in one season because I didn’t have the heart to pull them out.Now I am ruthless, most of the time. Last year it was pumpkins that stretched across the yard and cosmos, they grew 8ft. tall Do I ever learn my lesson??? This year everything I did not plant came out. I did very good and things were much neater.I live on a small lot so I must show control at all times.I must admit there are always a few I let slip!!!
My perennial beds are divided by colors—hot colors in one, cool colors in another, whites in a third. I must admit to beheading or pulling out those who do not comply. But if the ‘volunteers’ are pretty, I just relocate them the appropriate bed. Does this make me intolerant?
I prefer to leave the yellow ones in my garden… (somehow, every mix has pink popping up in it) My back yard garden is mostly yellow with purple and white. So for the pink guys that pop up here and there, I pick them to decorate my dining room. It cleans up my garden and I get flowers for the house… and I don’t feel guilty about picking flowers, because I didn’t want the pinks there anyway.