Heart of the Garden

Category: Invasives

  • My Top Ten Garden Takeaways

    My Top Ten Garden Takeaways

    I lied. There are 16… 6. Gardening is tragedy plus time 7. Choose annuals that will self seed 8. You make suggestions, nature makes decisions 9. Your garden frames moments: garden with your feeling 10. If you don’t like being a gardener-on-display like a mannequin in a shop window, then,…

  • Invasive: Purple Loosestrife

    I bought this plant at a church plant sale last summer. It was labelled “Pink Salvia.” Is there such a thing? It turns out it’s purple loosestrife, an invasive weed that’s taking over many meadows along the Brandywine. Great. Thanks church.

  • Invasive: English Ivy

    I’ve been obsessing about yanking out all the english ivy I planted in my shade garden. It has evolved into a giant green medusa and I finally neglected my other chores today and psyched myself up with a Maori angry face chant and headed for the ivy. It was starting…

  • Invasive: Burning Bush and Japanese Barberry

    I just read that Japanese Barberry and Burning bush are on the invasives list for PA. Two or three Summers ago, I got both these shrubs for about 99 cents in their clearance rack at Lowes. I didn’t even like them that much but I just wanted more structure in…

  • Damn-boo: How to Get Rid of Bamboo

    Question: How do you get rid of bamboo? Answer: You don’t. It gets rid of you. That’s not totally accurate, but I have to honor the legacy of the seemingly-obliterated bamboo in our backyard with some melodrama. We thought it was so pretty when we moved in until we realized…