5/20/08
An English botanist, Sir Edward James Salisbury, wrote in his 1935 book, The Living Garden:
“We can in fact only define a weed . . . in terms of the well-known definition of dirt — as matter out of place. What we call a weed is in fact merely a plant growing where we do not want it.”
Boy, I can relate to that!
In my garden, the most common, prolific, and interfering weeds are beautiful plants that other people seek out and cultivate, such as pink garden phlox; sugar maples, white pines, and poplars; Johnny-jump-ups; lilacs. The most persistent, invidious weed of all is grass!
These infest my yard and garden no matter how harsh the climate. Yes, they are lovely and I feel bad trying to get rid of them. That is, I used to feel bad . . . until I realized that no matter how much I cut, tear, pull, smother, relocate, dig under, give away, or otherwise abuse those plants, they not only bounce back but spread, and continue elbowing out what I want in that space.
Perversely, they refuse to grow in any place I desire to put them. Arrggghhh!
This is one of those paradoxical joys of gardening that forces you into accepting nature’s way and learning compromise. The deal I made with these “weeds” is this: You may grow over here, but not over there. If you show up over there, I will treat you as a weed and remove you. If you contain yourself over here, I will let you flourish.
Thus we remain in never-ending push and shove as I strive to cultivate non-natives like vegetables. I suspect that’s how agriculture began — trying to isolate a food source from the incursion of vigorous spreaders.
After moving to Vermont and experiencing poor results with my gardens, I had to decide whether the cause was me (Black Thumb Woman) or the environment (cold, cloudy, and crummy soil). So I inventoried my yard and looked up which USDA Zone the thrivers fell within. All Zone 3. Aha! On the map, we’re 4 or 5. This explains why my Russian Sages did so poorly (they are now growing tall and lush in my friend’s lasagna garden, Zone 5). Also, the thrivers favor acidic soil. Aha again!
These discoveries have spared me more fruitless experiments. But I still haven’t figured out how to make grass grow from seed where we want it, and how to prevent it from choking out my perennial beds!
If anyone would like to establish an area of brilliant late-summer color, let me know, and I’ll give you LOTS of vivid pink phlox!
Carolyn Haley
Author: Open Your Heart with Gardens
Posted by: Opening the heart, gardens, gardening, yard, plants, spring — Carolyn Haley
|
