Weeds: the bane of any gardener’s existence. But…are they really?When we’re new gardeners, we figure that anything we didn’t plant is probably a weed and pull or dig it out. We eventually catch on that sometimes our “good” plants produce useful seedlings, and gradually we learn to recognize which little plants to remove and which can stay. Ah, but then there are the mystery plants–we assume they’re probably weeds (particularly if they look really strong and healthy), but we leave them just in case they might be something desirable. And sometimes they are both: technically weeds, but also interesting enough to keep—at least for a short time.
Purple Japanese burnet (Sanguisorba tenuifolia var. purpurea) against the bright yellow foliage of golden elderberry (Sambucus nigra ‘Aurea’)Happy first full day of spring, all! Unless you’re in the other hemisphere, of course, in which case, it’s the start of autumn. We could actually split the difference and say happy winter, since it’s still decidedly wintery here, no matter what the calendar says. I wish I could have done a Bloom Day post back on the 15th, but it would have been awfully short. So instead, I decided to write about one of my favorite perennials. Continue reading One Plant, Three Seasons: Sanguisorba tenuifolia
‘Evergold’ sedge (Carex oshimensis) and variegated Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum odoratum ‘Variegatum’) with ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) and ‘White Nancy’ spotted deadnettle (Lamium maculatum)So much for Bloom Day here in southeastern Pennsylvania. We had flowers 2 weeks ago, even 3 weeks ago, but in the last week, May turned into January, and for the past few days, we’ve stayed below freezing and been buried in sleet and snow. In between shoveling sessions, I’ve resorted to pulling from my photo archives so I can write about another favorite subject: variegated plants. Continue reading Working with Variegated Plants
![A combination of the flowers of three plants often considered weeds: crown vetch (Coronilla varia), common yarrow (Achillea millefolium), and common fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus) [Nancy J. Ondra/nancyjondra.com]](https://i0.wp.com/hayefield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/achillea_erigeron_coronilla_njo-070617-1.jpg?resize=513%2C343&ssl=1)
![Purple Japanese burnet (Sanguisorba tenuifolia var. purpurea) against the bright yellow foliage of golden elderberry (Sambucus nigra 'Aurea') [Nancy J. Ondra/hayefield.com/nancyjondra.com]](https://i0.wp.com/hayefield.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/ondra-sanguisorba-tenuifolia-purpurea-082509-1.jpg?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1 "Purple Japanese burnet (Sanguisorba tenuifolia var. purpurea) against the bright yellow foliage of golden elderberry (Sambucus nigra 'Aurea') [Nancy J. Ondra/hayefield.com/nancyjondra.com]")
!['Evergold' sedge (Carex oshimensis) and variegated Solomon's seal (Polygonatum odoratum 'Variegatum') with ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) and 'White Nancy' spotted deadnettle (Lamium maculatum) [Nancy J. Ondra/Hayefield.com]](https://i0.wp.com/hayefield.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/carex-evergold-lamium-polygonatum-ondra.jpg?ssl=1 "'Evergold' sedge (Carex oshimensis) and variegated Solomon's seal (Polygonatum odoratum 'Variegatum') with ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) and 'White Nancy' spotted deadnettle (Lamium maculatum) [Nancy J. Ondra/Hayefield.com]")