BADLY BEHAVED PLANTS

 

We have all heard of invasive plants, most of them fall in the category of weeds. However, some invasive varieties fool us. Favorite herbs, flowers and vines that we love can also get out of control. Many of these are also sold at nurseries and, when that is the case, we think that they are perfectly fine to plant in our gardens…until they behave badly and try to take over.

Some of these bad boys even trick us because they start out in an orderly fashion and provide us with perfumed flowers, edible and medicinal herbs and even treasured vegetables. But then, they show their ugly side and start bullying other plants by taking over.

 

HOW PLANTS BECOME INVASIVE

There are a few things that sets invasive plants apart from their counterparts and makes them so hard to kill.

*They tend to grow and mature rapidly.

*Most of them can flower quickly and can flower and set seed over a long period of time.

*Most of them have few natural enemies or natural diseases that will kill them.

*They thrive in many habitats.

*They are attractive with either their flowers or fragrances which makes us want to plant them.

When I learned to paint, I painted violets on a clock base because they were so pretty. Little did I know back then that they were also very invasive. I started one little clump in my flower garden and since then they have spread to many areas of the yard. They also grow in the crown of my rose bushes. I never would have guessed that something so pretty, tiny and dainty could be such a persistent grower!

 

Another species that surprised me was morning glories. I have always planted the heavenly blue ones and then a friend gave me a start of some smaller dark purple ones to try. That was certainly a mistake. They not only took over my entire fence, but also killed off the heavenly blue ones. Their seed can be spread by the wind and by birds and they get a start in farmers’ fields. Once there, they grow up corn stalks and wreak havoc on farmers’ equipment when the vines wrap around the moving parts.

 

Some other surprising invaders are:

*Mint. All varieties from catnip to spearmint, once they get started there is no stopping them. Even when they are started as only a tiny clump in the garden, they can easily take over a yard.

*Oregano. This herb is as bad as mint for taking over spaces. Although not considered an invasive species, this family also includes lavender.

*Lemon balm. Who doesn’t love the fresh smell of this enticing herb? Its fragrance is what makes it so attractive in gardens, however it also loves to spread and take over.

*Horseradish. Once you plant this hardy root crop…and even when you are the lucky recipient of this via other ways than planting it, you will have it forever. It is impossible when digging it to grind into horseradish to get all the pieces of root and one little piece left behind is all it takes to form a new plant. When planted in a pot, its roots will find its way into the soil through the drainage holes in the pot.

*Loosestrife. This voracious grower has invaded wetlands throughout North America. It is a fast-spreading plant that grows primarily in wetlands. A relative of the primrose family, it can grow up to 10 feet tall either in a couple feet of water or on dry shore near the water line.

*Nepeta. Commonly known as catnip, these are easy to grow, long-lived, resistant to deer and rabbits and irresistible to cats. You may be doing your cat a favor by planting this, but certainly not yourself.

*Lilly of the Valley. These fragrant, white-flowered plants with small bell-shaped flowers are attractive to use as borders around flower gardens. However, they spread quickly and are hard to get rid of because the plants grow so close together it is hard to pull the roots out. They are even growing in the cracks between my rocks.

*Iris. These tall beauties may not be considered invasive but they do spread and it is literally impossible to pull all of their rhizomes from the soil.

*Lamb’s Ear. This fuzzy, textured plant is sometimes referred to as a weed because, once they get a foot hold, they pop up all over the lawn.

*English Ivy. This may very well be the worst culprit of all vining plants. It will easily engulf the outsides of buildings and everything else it grows near. Perhaps the only other vine that is more invasive is kudzu. In China, kudzu is used to treat alcoholism but here it is known as “the plant that ate the South” because it literally grows on everything in the southern United States.

*Creeping Charlie. Its name suits this plant since wherever it gets a foothold, it tends to creep…and creep…and creep.

*Garlic and chives. Grown for their pungent flavor in many dishes, you will never be short on it because even a couple missed flower heads will give life to hundreds of new plants.

*Fennel. Its seeds taste like anise and its leaves are flavored like dill. Fennel has actually invaded farm fields in California and Virginia.

*German chamomile. This herb literally self-sows anywhere. In Boulder, CO, it grows in the cracks of sidewalks instead of crabgrass.

*St. John’s wort. Valued as a mood lifter, it can quickly cause depression if let go unchecked.

*Tansy. It repels flies, ants and other pests until it becomes a pest itself.

*Yarrow. Known to heal bruises, burns, wounds and sores, it multiplies without any help.

*Calendula. These bright, yellow flowered plants cheer up any flower garden until you can’t stop their spread.

*Wisteria. This vine was introduced from China in 1816. Although one of the most popular flowering vines, it can displace native species and have even killed sizable trees.

 

*Strawberries. This beloved fruit sends out runners, that left unchecked will take up a bigger place in your garden than you had ever intended.

 

*Bamboo. Don’t even think of starting it. Technically a giant grass, once it is started it is nearly impossible to kill. Its sprouts in spring can grow 12 inches in a day and its roots can tunnel out 20 feet.

*Bradford pear. These line many small town streets and are a sight to behold in spring when they bloom. However, they have creeped into fields and along roadsides until they have become pests in some areas.

*Butterfly bush. This beloved fragrant flower that provides nectar for butterflies is actually a noxious weed in Oregon and Washington. The butterfly larvae can’t eat its nectar so it doesn’t support the entire life cycle of the butterfly and displaces native plants that do support them.

 

WHERE YOU WANT SOME INVASIVE SPECIES

 

Some invasive species like myrtle, vinca and other ground cover are actually encouraged to take over trouble spots and keep weeds at bay. These are great for planting around buildings and rock gardens because when they creep into the lawn, they can just be mowed off and managed easily. Because they cover empty spaces, these plants become attractive.

So, what do you do when some of your favorite plants are invasive? You don’t have to give them up, just don’t let them run free. Instead of planting them directly in your gardens, put them in a container where they will be constrained. The container can either set on top of the ground or be buried in the ground.

Badly behaved plants can still be a welcome addition to your landscape…you just have to show them who is boss!

 

 

 

 

 

THERE'S AN AP FOR THAT

 

The one thing that separates generations is technology. I remember growing up, just about anything kids wanted to learn they would be taught by their parents, teachers or other peers. Now, grown-ups go to their kids for help navigating their devices like cell phones, laptops and tablets that are all computerized. Wow, how the world has changed!

Just doing everyday tasks seems to require a master’s degree in computer science. There is online banking, online teledocs, online lawyers, online school courses and even online dating…talk about replacing the personal touch!

Even in the home, you no longer just cook and make coffee. Instead, you program the coffee maker, the microwave, the dishwasher and even the new-fangled washing machines. They say an Instapot will do it all for you, well, it would certainly be nice if they had a button on them that would program themselves to cook the food. Remember when we could just cook the food on the stove and actually wash the clothes in the washer without spending a half hour trying to figure out how to work the contraption?

All these gadgets that are supposed to simplify our lives are actually making them more complicated. But alas, I have been told repeatedly not to worry that there is an ap for that. There is literally an ap for everything these days. I’d be willing to bet that there is an ap for an ap. Probably out there somewhere there actually is!

 

PASSWORDS.

 

I have been slow to catch on but my friend Steph finally has gotten through to me that anything you want to know, you can google. Miss Google knows everything about everything. I lost all my icons on my one laptop’s desktop so I googled it on another laptop how to get them back. When I was away from home, my laptop screen went blank so I googled it on my phone how to get it back. Later, I couldn’t connect to the Internet on my phone so I googled that on my laptop. Although it’s comforting to know that help is just a click away, it is also a little daunting that Miss Google is literally EVERYWHERE.

If this isn’t enough to boggle your mind, then passwords will. The idea is so simple, you set a password to protect your account and your privacy. I have found that most accounts are so good at protecting my privacy that they won’t even let me in!

How many times have you set up an account and used it and changed absolutely nothing but when you go to access it the next time, either the password or username doesn’t match. Nothing changed in the meantime. My thought on this is that there really are little gremlins somewhere out there in cyberspace that just love to go in the wee hours of the night and mess with our passwords. Not to worry though, somewhere out there is another password that we can set to stop this…I just haven’t found it yet! But, there’s an ap for that!

 

GREMLINS IN THE PRINTER.

 

The same gremlins must be at work with my printer and scanner. The last printer had a problem printing. It would scan, copy but would not print. After all, didn’t it know it was a printer! Did you notice that I said the last printer? Yep, it tried my patience and got replaced.

The replacement at least knows that it is a printer. However, it likes a lot of attention. That must be the case because I go through the same motions every time I want to print or scan and, instead of it just doing the job, it asks me all sorts of questions: “Am I ready?” Well yea, or I wouldn’t have told it to print!” “Do you want the same size, portrait or landscape, lighter or darker?” Why can’t it just print the 10^th page just like it printed the previous nine? I know, there’s an ap for that somewhere!

Also, there is no such thing as just plugging a device in and having it work. It seems like every gadget has to be programmed. I was going to unplug my router when I switch Internet providers. No…it has to be re-programmed. When I did get my new printer, Steph was literally three hours programming it to “talk” to my laptop. At one point she got to know the tech who was based in the Philipines so well that they were actually discussing the weather while waiting for the printer to go through its set-up. Ridiculous!

 

ALMOST HUMAN.

 

Even though they are made up of wires, circuit boards and other inanimate materials, somehow our technical devices seem almost human sometimes. We are all pretty much used to getting put on hold when we call an establishment. We get to listen to their choice of music for what usually seems like an eternity. As if that weren’t bad enough, my laptop has also been doing it. I try to connect to a site and it asks me, “Please wait.” Well, at least it is polite!

Ron is slowly beginning to make friends with his new phone. It is the first “smart” phone he has had, upgrading from his true and faithful flip phone. Soon after he got it, he was frustrated with it and tossed it down, calling it a dumb*!%*. Immediately, it proceeded to tell him the exact definition of a dumb*!%*. Maybe they are part human!

Even my toaster has a mind of its own. I have a beautiful four-slice toaster at home that toasts anything perfectly the first time. Since Ron is not a fan of toast (too crumby!), I bought a simple ten-dollar one for his place. All I want it to do is toast. Inevitably, if I stand there the toast won’t stay down and as soon as I walk away it gets burned. I just can’t win. But, I bet there is an ap to fix that!

Even the new-fangled waffle maker has a mind of its own. The instructions say not to look until the light goes out. So, I don’t. Finally, the light goes out and, guess what? Yep, it’s beyond crunchy, almost…just almost burned.

 

FRUSTRATION.

 

The one thing that all technological devices have in common is that they do help us release anger. Nope, not with a hammer, although that does quiet them. That has been tried and all that accomplishes is that you need to replace the device with a newer and greater one with newer technology which breeds more frustration.

However, once we get through venting our anger on the devices, we are pretty much mellowed out to be sociable around people.

The world is always changing, sometimes for the better and sometimes not. There have been so many technological advances in modern medicine that can save lives with pinpoint accuracy and yet simple tasks on our everyday devices can drive us mad. The only thing for certain is that smart phones, TV’s and other appliances are here to stay.

It’s like some people like Einstein was a genius in so many ways and lacked common sense. Maybe someday our smart devices will actually be smart enough for us to navigate them! They don’t call them smart devices for nothing. Next time I get frustrated, I’ll just search for an ap because you know, there’s an ap for that!