Re: Perennial Mistakes

**"* P* <R*@Comcast.net>**

I'll drink to horse tail (or because of it)! Mine came in, I think, with 
some purchased mulch. I don't even think of this as a perennial...only as a 
noxious weed!

Sandie Parrott

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Nancy Szerlag" <szerlag@earthlink.net>
To: "Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum" 
<gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org>
Cc: "Nancy Szerlag" <szerlag@earthlink.net>
Sent: Sunday, March 01, 2009 12:01 PM
Subject: Re: [GWL] Perennial Mistakes

>
> My worst gardening nightmare Chinese Lanterns was a gift from
> neighbor. Having used it as an everlasting in flower arrangements she
> planted it in her perennial border that bordered my lot line. This
> thug sent runners into my compost bins and tunneled under pathways
> into raised beds.  I was new at the gardening game and  thought it
> had reseeded in my beds, so I let it go the first year and cut off
> all the seed pods in fall. Unbeknownst to me the runners were running
> amuck through out the garden.  The stuff loved digging deep into the
> compacted clay soil beneath the woodchip covered walk ways.     I dug
> and dug and dug, but never did succeed in getting rid of all of it.
> My compost castle, a very large two bin affair could not be moved, so
> it was impossible to get to the roots that became established behind
> it and I was unwilling to take it apart.
>
> Soapwort ( Saponaria officinallis) is another pest that challenges me
> here in the country. I was into herbs and charmed by the fact I could
> use it as soap. Plus, the lovely pink blossoms made a charming
> addition to my English border. It will be with me forever.
>
> Horse tail, another plant that is selling in garden centers, should
> come with a skull and cross bones warning. It was listed as a Native
> Plant Alternative in an article published in Gardenchic magazine a
> slick new publication directed to independent garden centers. That
> stuff could take over the world if it  gets a foothold in America's
> landscapes.
>
> Last but by no means least is Dames Rockets (Hesperis mertronalis.)
> It's taking over the peat lands that have been left idle from farming
> now that celery, carrots and other crops are no longer profitable to
> grow here in Michigan. We call them muck farms.  I was also shocked
> to find the Iris beds at Giverny, the home of Monet, had been allowed
> to be taken over by Dames Rockets.
>
> Nancy Szerlag
> The Detroit News
>
>
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