I started my alphabet garden posts back in April, and somehow it is already June -- the last week of June! What happened to May and the first three weeks of June?
My, how time flies when you're having fun in the garden :-)
So continuing on with the alphabet theme, here we go with the next installment...
"I"
My, how time flies when you're having fun in the garden :-)
So continuing on with the alphabet theme, here we go with the next installment...
"I"
is for Invasive
I am on a mission to eradicate invasive plants from my garden.
The latest on my hit list is Chinese Wild Ginger (Asarum splendens).
Apparently I did not do my research. This plant starts out as a beautiful clump of foliage, and then once it firmly takes root, it proceeds to take over. If you are looking for a beautiful evergreen groundcover, this might just be the ticket. I decided to keep this plant, but I put it in a container so that it will stay...well....contained :-)
My definition of an invasive plant is one that has a root system that travels large distances and entangles within the root system of desirable plants and starts to gobble them up. Another definition is a plant that reseeds so prolifically that it is next to impossible to keep it under control.
Other invasive plants that have have either gone by the wayside or are on their way out are:
Bouncing Bet (Saponaria officinalis) -- gone
Tall Mexican Petunia (Ruellia brittonia) -- 99.9% gone
Wood Violet (Viola papilionacea) -- work in progress
Obedient Plant (Physostegia virginiana) -- gone
Blue Mistflower (Eupatorium coelestinum) -- gone
Blue Mistflower (Eupatorium coelestinum) -- gone
Lyre Leaf Sage (Salvia lyrata) -- gone
Taro -- gone, except for contained in the pond
Dollar Weed (Hydrocotyle spp.) -- help!!!
* * *
* * *
"J"
is for Jardiniere
Jardiniere is a French term meaning: "ornamental bowl, pot, or stand for flowers or plants." Below are some of the container plantings I have on my back deck and side porch this summer.
is for Jardiniere
Jardiniere is a French term meaning: "ornamental bowl, pot, or stand for flowers or plants." Below are some of the container plantings I have on my back deck and side porch this summer.
"K"
is for Koi
is for Koi
Here are a couple recent additions to our Koi pond.
Also visiting our pond this month....
And a couple water lily blooms are just icing on the cake...
"L"
is for Lime Green
'Lime Mound' Spiraea
'Peedee Ingot' Liriope
'Orange Dream'
Japanese Maple
Another Spiraea...
called 'Mellow Yellow'
Creeping Jenny
Lovely post Toni... those caladiums look great! Larry
ReplyDeleteToni, the pond is lovely and I can commiserate with the invasives...sometimes even natives in the wrong place can be a problem like Obedient plant....I have a list I continue to deal with as well...love the lime greens too
ReplyDeleteToni, Great alphabet post. I love your container plantings. I have several battles with invasive plants on the go. It definitely pays to check a plants references before inviting it home. I find the Creeping Jenny in the last photo invasive (though pretty). Is it on your list of invasive plants as well?
ReplyDeleteToni, your garden is so beautiful (are you sure you want to waste your time touring mine??)and I love the alphabetical tour you've been taking us on. The invasive problem is universal I think, I'm battling a long list of stuff, but the worst is the creeping ground ivy or kenilworth ivy (the creeping purple stinky weed that gets in lawns) and the very 'worstest' part is I was given the stupid plant as a 'groundcover' and I planted it!! No one to blame but me and now it's here, there and everywhere.
ReplyDeleteThe jardiniere is such a regal term for your lovely, lovely plantings...at my house their called light shades, lol, but I don't have the talent to combine such stunning arrangements. And your koi are so happy in their crystal pond.
Your garden is a masterpiece!
I love all your pots and containers beautifully planted with a mixture of plants and also their creative arrangement in your side porch!
ReplyDeleteLove the alphabet idea. :) Hope you can get those invasive plants under your dominion! I keep finding little bits of obedient plant showing up...errg....a shame because it's so pretty.
ReplyDelete@Larry: Thanks for visiting, Larry! All of the caladiums were planted from #1 size bulbs that I got through my Master Gardener Assn. Easy summer color for shade!!
ReplyDelete@Donna: I loved the blooms of the obedient plant, but it did not live up to its name! That one was a double whammy -- traveling by root and seed. I will have to admire it from afar because it can't live in my garden anymore.
@Jennifer: Yes, the creeping Jenny does travel, but I find its root system so shallow that it is easy to pull up where I don't want it. It's the plants that send roots down a foot or two and then travel that scare me -- you never know where they are going to pop up and if you can ever get all of the root system out.
@Karen: You know the wood violet I listed as invasive? I got that from your great state! I thought how wonderful it would be to have the state flower of WI in my TX garden. Wrong! So now I am on a mission to get rid of it. No one to blame but me, so I feel your pain. I love SWEET violet (viola odorata) because it stays in a neat little clump and does not reseed everywhere. Yes, of course I want to see your garden!!!! I can't wait to see your lamp shades :-)
ReplyDelete@P3: Thanks for the visit. I'm a container nut and love trying new combinations of plants each year. I do need to water them every evening, though, to keep them alive in the TX summers. But I use plants that can take the heat.
@Hanni: Yes, I sure like the look of obedient plant. I remember when I got it. When I saw it growing in a garden, I said, I've got to have that. Promptly went out and bought it, planted it, and then the mayhem began! I try to be more careful now, but sometimes things slip by me. Always learning :-)
I love the jardiniere! Your porch looks terrific. My favorite photo is the toad. I'm sure he likes to eat your bugs, a nice guy to have around!
ReplyDelete