Re: invasives

**A*@aol.com**

Gerri,  You are correct in saying that not everything grows well everywhere.  
Mike Dirr has said that Euonymus alatus that pops up like dandelions in 
eastern Massachusetts is not a problem in the southern states where he spends 
the majority of his waking hours.  North Carolina is not so very different 
climatologically from MA, but E. alatus is nothing to worry about there.  
I've heard that there are things that are take over artists in Illinois that 
we ignore here around Boston.  I think garden writers should write for local 
audiences, and sometimes present unpleasant information.  I've found almost 
nothing worth reading about gardening except in the professional literature.  
Even that has its shortcomings sometimes.  However, it comes down to should 
garden writers address an audience that is totally uninformed, or should they 
offer a little intellectual challenge plus ways for readers to get more 
information on a topic?  
In all other states than Massachusetts the cooperative extension service is 
available to everyone.  Garden writers should inform readers about ways to 
get help from the people in extension and through state universities.  I live 
in a fairly well-off town that is full of serious weeds on public lands and 
some commercial property also.  None of the people who brag about being 
involved in saving/improving the environment say anything about this.  The 
reason is that once a pest is removed no one pays attention any longer, but 
if you hang a basket of petunias on the street lamp people think kindly of 
you every day.  It is a little like the three tailors who sold the emperor a 
gorgeous new suit.
We even have uninformed citizens using public money to do things that an 
expert would know had no chance of succeeding.  It is sort of like the 
colonials who farmed New England without the knowledge we have now.  New 
England soils are productive when handled according to what has been learned 
in the last hundred years.  It only seems sad to think that our descendants a 
century from now will have very expensive messes to clean up, just like the 
residue of manufacturing we're finding so often.

Barbara Emeneau
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