On my blog I've posted some May-blooming beauties from my garden, including this Spiderwort that apparently isn't universally admired. Happy Gardenblogger Bloom Day to everyone but especially to Carol – because May IS officially her month.
Commented on If I had a nickel for every garden cliché I’ve ever heard… { Chris, Yeah, describing plants as deck-eating, fence-eating, or house-eating has gotten to be a little overworked, but "evil ivy" has a nice ring to it.... } – Apr 18, 3:23 PM
Commented on If I had a nickel for every garden cliché I’ve ever heard… { Amy -- I for one am very glad to see your rant here. It's given me food for thought (sorry). Thanks! } – Apr 18, 2:58 PM
Commented on Immediacy and the Novice Gardener { Your neighbors sound like my exceedingly safety conscious practical parents. Of course you took the nails out so the city workers wouldn't get hurt. Those... } – Apr 18, 1:17 PM
Commented on If I had a nickel for every garden cliché I’ve ever heard… { I do have a blog but I don't pretend to be a writer. I doubt that many of the people who read my blog are... } – Apr 18, 12:31 PM
Commented on If I had a nickel for every garden cliché I’ve ever heard… { So much for describing my Cecile Brunner climbing rose as the "deck eating rose", even though the deck is ten feet above the driveway and... } – Apr 18, 12:26 PM
Commented on Immediacy and the Novice Gardener { good point about sprinkling gently! } – Apr 18, 10:09 AMWe are:
perfect
magazine
gardens.
Gardening
our
asses
off.
Having a
hell of a lot
of fun.
I love spiderworts! I have loads of shade and they provide a different texture to a garden with many big leaves like hostas and heucheras and many frilly leaves like columbine and geranium.
Oh, it’s pretty. But it seeds itself everywhere in my yard. The root mass does not yank easily out of the ground, and if you just pull off the stems, they grow back and back and back.
That’s my definition of a problem plant–one that requires a shovel to be rid of it.
For over 10 years spiderwort was not a problem. Then it started self seeding like a maniac. It comes up in the cracks of the sidewalk. One mutated into a lovely pale blue. It is only the dark purple that spreads. Isn’t this a native plant?
I love spiderworts too. The gardener who passed some on to me said when they start to look icky you can just mow them down with a lawnmower. They give you hope for spring when they come up before the irises.