THEY HAVE TO GO

This week I have been at my most gardening ruthless, and it wasn't easy. I had allowed this area of the herb garden to become over run with larkspur, crowding out the santolina, variegated creeping oregano and dittany of Crete. Yesterday I pulled the lot. The patch looks very bare but I think I may have learnt my lesson. All too often in my garden the bullies take over and crowd out the smaller plants.

This is a herb garden! It looks more like wildflower meadow. Years ago I stopped by the roadside and picked some Coreopsis tinctoria seeds, to sow on the septic field. For some reason they prefer to be in my garden. I do love the way they waft in the breeze but oh how they seed themselves everywhere, except on the septic, of course. The deer eat them.

I left the coreopsis and moved on into the sunken garden, removing vast swaths of trailing wine cups. It really was getting too much. They had seeded in enormous numbers and were taking over. Seeds were already spilling out onto the stones and I made sure I picked up every one. I still have one plant to remove from the center but am waiting for a replacement idea before I do so.

The problem with the red corn poppies is that they greet me every morning. The bees are busy collecting pollen and I can't possibly pull them out. By evening they are gone but it is far to hot to be working outside and they always get to stay another day.

Trying to find low growing plants for my rock garden is not easy. It certainly isn't Englemann's daisy, cut leaf daisy, Engelmannia pinnatifida. Nice plant, great cut flowers, wonderful at hiding the daffodil leaves but too big and starting to spread like wildfire. I cut two of them back and removed the large clump.
All I have to do now is find some well mannered replacements.