Up North...

Up North...

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Plants I Can do Without

I suppose as a gardener I am expected to just love all plants. Well...that is actually not the case at all. In fact sometimes I feel like a plant hater. Like for example when I am pulling out tarp fulls of weeds in the garden. It feels more like a plant holocaust at the times I am spraying with round-up. Which I try not to do too often...because, well...pulling just works faster.

So I thought I would take a minute to write about some of the plants that I don't care for. Not exactly considered weeds per se...but undesirable in my garden. So here is a list of my top ten least desirable plants.

1. Canadian Day Lillies. Orange, tall, blade like foliage. Two words for ya. TAKE OVER.
They take over and pillage your garden. Do not introduce this plant. Good for next to the highway...far and away places that you have not desire to tend to.

2. Snow on the Mountain. Don't like snow in winter...don't like it taking over my garden. You will seriously regret introducing this variegated plant if it decides to lose it's variegation and just become a green weed that chokes out every living thing in its path.

3. Horse Tail...this is a weed. It is simply NOT an ornamental. Do not introduce this plant unless you are planning to introduce every other invasive species on the planet into your flower garden. Ha....I am telling you now. Heed my advice.

4. Those giant hostas that take ovcr and multiply like baby rabbits and turn your garden into a giant green umbrella for slugs. I don't know what that particular variety is called, but I know you know which ones I am talking about. They go forth and multiply and bury everything good.

5. Oh! Which brings me to Lilly of the Valley. I am pretty sure hell is carpeted with this ground cover. It is the ultimate mono culture ground cover...it will eventually kill and drown every living thing in its path. It's not that I don't love the smell...I'm just saying...if you love Lilly of the Valley you will have only Lilly of the Valley...be careful what you wish for.

6. Hmmmm....I seem to be slowing down on the plants I hate...I'll have to get back to this later.

GartenGrl

5 comments:

  1. I don't think I have anything on your list!!! My daylilies are all different colors- no plain orange here. I hate snow in the winter too!

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  2. I'm not really a giant fan of vinca either, but if I had to choose vinca over pachasandra....I don't know, it's a toss up...I suppose they both serve their purpose for some gardens...although vinca is considered very dangerous to introduce near a woodland area as it is considered an invasive in parts of the country.

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  3. lol, we have lily of the valley..it has it's purpose in our yard, and was here long before us, so we just pull up the ones that show up where we don't want them. I have some lilies,
    under my fig..my DH always threatens to pull them out, but they look lovely under there,
    and haven't moved anywhere else..they come from DH's Mum's house..we have hostas too.
    lol They haven't spread enough for me..they are under cedar trees and the only thing that grows there for me.Some orange mint I allowed to run wild killed my snow in summer..:-(
    What is your favorite plant?

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  4. Well, I have to admit that I realize that all those plants serve a purpose and can be very pretty too. It's really only when I have to devide them because they are soooo prolific that I stop loving them. I guess my feelings are to think twice before introducing some of them.
    I actually do like hostas...there are like a thousand different varieties.
    I just prefer the ones that don't grow like gang busters all over the place.
    My favorite plants(plural for sure) are as follows:
    1. Rosa Rugosa
    2. Purple Fennel
    3. Wild daisies
    4. Echinacea
    5. Fountain Grass
    6. Purple Sedum
    7. Jack in the Pulpit
    8. Perrenial Sunflower
    9. Hot Pink English Asters
    10. Russian Sage
    11. Culinary Sage
    12. Thyme
    13. Oregano
    14. Ornamental Onions
    15. Chives
    16. Mai nacht Salvia
    17. Double Knock out roses
    18. Cat mint
    19. Trumpet Vine...I know...
    20. Iris-any kind really
    21. Lemon Drops
    22. Hmmmm....Milk weed, swamp weed, butterfly weed
    23. Butterfly Bush
    24. Queen Annes Lace
    25. Bergamot

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  5. We have a veritable factory of lily of the valley in our woods here. Last year I sold some on craigslist- 10 cents each if you dig your own, $1 each if you want me to dig for you. No one wanted to let me do the digging, but I still made money off the stuff!

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