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Some of the things I call weeds in my yard are wildflowers on someone else's property. Bachelor's Buttons could become weeds because they are such fertile reproducers. I have mounds of them that two years ago were a dozen spindly looking plants. There's another plant, I think called the money tree, that falls into that same group. The purple flowers are so pretty in early summer, then they produce round pods that resemble silver dollars. I have to work to limit the space they think belongs to them. They and the buttons, along with feverfew seem to be duking it out, choking out other perennials. I'd like to get them started in an untended area, without supplementing its water needs. Alfalfa and bitterbrush, rabbitbrush, orange mallow along with a few flowers that I'd have to get up and go to the reference section of our home library to look up their names. I decided a few years ago that I'd leave that space untended rather than keeping it mowed. It's around a quarter acre. I've been planting evergreen trees out there. Blue spruce, Austrian Pine, and another pine whose name I can't remember. Oregon grape is pushing its way through the fence that separates the yard from the untended area. I'd plant some juniper trees, but they can become invasive, and they rob all of the water from anything else close by. There's one at the edge of the backyard that the neighbor's cows like to use as shade.
Somehow, choke cherry planted itself in the fenced garden, and this year killed two evergreen shrubs and is encroaching on everythin within reach. It sends out roots from which more chokers keep coming up. It's a challenge to keep it confined to its space, and I don't water it because I don't want to encourage it. I suppose I should borrow a backhoe and pull it out, but if I didn't get every piece of root, it would continue in its quest to take over the world.
We had a little rain today, so I didn't get as much time in the yard as I'd planned. Oh well, tomorrow's another day. I appreciate the rain.
Jim
Replies to "Some of the things I call weeds in my yard are wildflowers on someone else's property...."
@jimhd That's always the problem with naturalizing - identifying the garden thugs before they get out of control. My nemesis is Canada Anemone - an innocent looking little leaf with a white flower in the center - it hitchhiked in here with something else 20 years ago and I've been pulling it ever since. There are others that need assertive digging and pulling, but that is my worst.
On a happy note, our Minnesota weather is cooperating now that I'm home and I got one bed cleared out this afternoon. My goal is a bed a day for the next week and a half. Then my "diggers" come in to thin out selected perennials - they get to take half of what is dug, the rest usually goes to our Master Gardener Plant Sale, but this year it was cancelled, so I'll sell them through Nextdoor and donate the proceeds. The diggers became my way to get the job done several years ago when I was ill, now the new gardeners near me look forward to it - lots of nice perennials, mostly natives, in exchange for a bit of labor. And I have become a friend and garden mentor to several of them.
Tomorrow I place a bulk order for veggies and plants for pots and hanging baskets for 5 friends and myself with a local grower whose greenhouse is closed to the public. I will pickup curbside, then do driveway dropoffs of the orders. Just trying to help out a small business in this tough time.
All this helps to distract me from my sadness at not being able to hug my kids and grands right now.
Happy gardening.
Sue
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@jimhd I need to get a book to help me identify the plants/weeds/groundcover in our yard! Like @zep said, we can grow weeds really well! The lawn is mostly weeds, big healthy ones. The other night we had a covey of mountain quail picking through the grass. This was different, as we regularly see the California quail here. The big rain storm we had today will bring more growth, no doubt. My mother would always say that weeding relaxed her, and she had a green thumb [that gene missed me!]. Well, I should be well-relaxed in a few weeks.
Dang it! I spent a lot of time cutting down the japanese burberry bush right in front of the house, and there are new shoots already starting. grrr! There are two more to severely trim back. Sounds like a trip to the dump coming up soon.
Ginger