May 15 column: Invasive Plants
Some readers might take issue with my column in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review: Some plants set on dominating the garden. The topic is invasive plants that have done their best to take over my garden. I tried to approach it from a fairly humorous point of view, because we can’t let things like this get us down, right?
A few years back, I was taken to task for including Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla mollis) in my list of troublesome plants. Yes, I agree it’s a lovely plant, especially when water has pooled on its leaves following a rainstorm. And its golden flowers add an ethereal look to the plants.
But! If you don’t deadhead before the flowers set seed, oh my! I can attest to the fact that I’ve got hundreds of plant starts in my garden AND lawn (sigh) because I’m not always able to cut off the flower stalks in time.
In addition to Lady’s Mantle and the other three plants I discuss in my column, there are a few others that I’m occasionally battling with: Gooseneck Loosestrife, marjoram and two anemone cultivars (‘Snowdrop’ and ‘September Charm’). The problem is, I really like all of these plants… it’s just that I want them to behave themselves!
Anyway, I hope you’ll enjoy reading through today’s column. Here are photos of two other plants I mention in it, since there’s only room for a single photo in my column (I don’t have a photo of Rose Campion, sorry):
Euphorbia cyparissias (Cypress Spurge):
Lamium maculatum (Dead Nettle):
