So far, I’ve been a very lazy gardener. This first spring, my philosophy was to let everything grow until I could tell what it was, and then decide the merits of each plant and whether it’s supposed to be there. Getting a second app to ID things certainly helped… and took away my excuse. At this point, I have a fair idea what I’m looking at and whether it’s native, and can usually tell which plants are intentional/desirable.
Pros of having been a lazy gardener:
- The weeds I’m pulling now are so big that they’ve shaded out other weeds.
- It is super satisfying to pull weeds that are as tall as I am.
- I have found many native weeds that I’d like to keep, like the one pictured (Pennsylvania Pellitory, Parietaria pensylvanica). It’s not aggressive, and turns out to be a host plant for Red Admiral butterfly caterpillars. Might see if I can get a small stand of it going instead of just growing it between the pavers!
- I have enjoyed seeing the habits of each plant I end up determining not to keep–it’s a fascinating variety and includes some remarkable flowers and growth patterns! I find it worthwhile to understand and appreciate what I’m pulling up.
Cons of having been a lazy gardener:
- Spiny amaranth at this size pierces through rubber gloves and is just painful–need to get it out when it’s smaller.
- The combination of bindweed and pokeweed taking over the raspberry bed is too much for them. Think we’ll only get a few raspberries this year.
- Pulling bindweed around the raspberries, blueberries, grapes and ground cherries damages them–at this point, maybe need to cut it out instead of pulling.
- The blueberries never bloomed–not sure that’s weed-related, but have been advised to spread mulch around them for both weed-prevention and water retention. Think they need more care than they’ve been getting.