Having just come in from pulling up lots of weeds in a very small space I'm wondering now why I just don't let the "native plants" have their way! There's a very nice looking ground cover growing all over the place. It is flat and covers the bare spots and even gets pretty little flowers. Problem is it also covers everything else. I have lots and lots of sedums growing and would like to be able to see them. So up comes the pretty native ground cover.
And then there are the grasses. Ornamental grasses are pretty expensive for people on a tight budget and I love them. So why don't I just let the native grasses take over? They don't look so bad when they have gotten very large and have nice tassels on them.
Thistles! I have spent the last few years battling the thistles around here. They weren't so bad before I started feeding the finches thistle seed. That was a big mistake! I didn't realize the Niger thistle was't sterilized. Now when you see them they look really nice when they are blooming their pretty yellow flowers. And they don't have the same kind of stems and leaves that the field thistles have. You know, the ones with the purple flowers. Those are pretty too. But they all tend to run rampant and not stay anyplace that you'd want them too. We have pulled and dug out the roots and have spent lots of money on weed killer and the thistles are still winning!
Most of those pesky little native plants come out easily when you pull on them in the right direction. And some have roots that go to heaven knows where. Like dandelions. The roots are deeper than my shovel for goodness sake!
I just noticed the other day that my nice mound of dianthus was missing and my husband had been mowing it off. He thought they were weeds. I just can't win.
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