Hayefield

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] — 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.

Continue reading Gardening with Weeds

When I saw that Dave at The Home Garden was hosting Worst Weed Wednesday, I knew I had to take part. This has been the worst year for weeds of all kinds (or I suppose, the best year, if you are a weed), due to our unusually moist summer, I guess. Usually, I can do one thorough weeding in spring, set out my annuals, and then let all the good stuff fill in. This year, the perennials grew all right, but the annuals just sat there, letting weeds get a roothold around them. Even worse than the weeds in the gardens is the carpet of weeds in the pathways. Trying to keep my bark-mulched paths clear has been an on-going battle this summer, and I think I’m losing. Continue reading Worst Weed Wednesday at Hayefield