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Sunday, May 24, 2009

Weedy Things by Late Bloomer

One week in May:
Don't get me wrong. Last month I even loved seeing the weeds because I had been green-starved for too long. But that time is past and I have declared war on the unwanteds. My weedy things are another story. Weedy things are those self-seeding, spreading, creeping, and multiplying wonders that sometimes get carried away. I confess, I often let them take over in places where I need that kind of help.


Grape hyacinths make baby bulbs that magically sprout everywhere. They are not my favorite thing and are harder to remove than bindweed. But the unusual blue floweres are very welcome in early spring.




Lily of the Valley is beautiful with its little white bells lighting up all the shady places. They spread like the dreaded broadleaf grass in my yard.


Mint is very guilty of this too, but easy to control in a whiskey barrel.











Raspberries have woody spreading roots, but are easy to dig up and move or pot up and gift—unlike the horrifying thicket-ing habits of my grandmother's lovely yellow prairie rose nearby.








Dragon's blood sedum is my favorite ground cover. Started twenty years ago from one plant, I have it everywhere and it keeps out weeds as every good ground cover should, and spreads only where welcomed.




The silver dollar plants have heart shaped leaves and bloom profusely right along with the tulips. They are very weedy, but are not competitive, so they don't mind being surrounded with rampant garlic, mint, dandelions and grass. Later in the season they produce lunar-like seed pods for dry bouquets. Sweet Woodruff is delicate of leaf and flower, and spreads where invited.

The loveliest accident in the yard is a pale pink rose that grew and spread from the root ball of an aspen planted years ago. When it jumps the grass stop and invades the lawn it gets treated very badly.

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