When is a weed a weed. When it is a dandelion?
Well, maybe….usually yes, because dandelions makes a lovely lawn appear ugly, expecially when the seeds are produced. Because the seeds are produced in such numbers, dandelions become a more noticeable weed.
In our Masterpiece Landscaping dictionary, a weed is defined as “a plant out of place”.
Our Masterpiece Landscape garden where I live doesn’t have much lawn. If there are dandelions, they occur occasionally in the landscape garden appearing as a natural wildflower and so is hardly noticed. If I don’t want a natural looking yellow flowered dandelion where it is located, it becomes a weed, so I cull it.
Goldsturm rudbeckia and gigas seed readily where there is no lawn. Sometimes they seed themselves in places which make you become a landscape genius. Last garden season I let gigas run wild in my front garden. This season they will be controlle, I want to show off Rheingold and Sunkist Arborvitaes, Gentsch Hemlock and Andorra Juniper this year giving them all a cleaner, neater look by opening up more ‘negative’ space.
I grow gooseneck lysimachia in the front grounds. This perennial is a serious spreader…..well, almost anything Lysimachia is. It becomes ‘a weed’, or weedy the week before your eye notices it’s attacking neighboring plants including the woody ones. It does very well in shade or sun.
Most major weeds in my or any landscape garden are tree seedling; elm, silver maple, norway maple, box elder, sugar maple, red oak, white oak, burr oak, buckthorn, mulberry, crab apple, and red bud among others. These are major weeds. If I weren’t around to groom the garden, that is to cull them by hoeing or kicking them out with my foot when they are only about an inch high. If you are too late youtll then have to have to get them out by hand or shovel, both tedious to do.
I am constantly prowling around the garden grounds to see or sense what is out of place. Ones eye must be trained to inform the mind.
The disorderly is best seen in Winter. Deciduous foliage isn’t in the way. Scars, ‘weeds,’ and ugliness are. Again, a week meaning a plant out of place.
Such a plant could be a sickly 35 foot blue spruce tree that is now 90% dead when last winter it was ony 75% dead. How much more dying will this ugliness have to be before it is a plant out of place?
Whatever is ugly is likely to be a weed unless there is some other reason for its existence on the grounds than creating or supporting beauty, or controlling where you want the eye or the feel to go.
You must remember that winter is not only the longest landscape season in the year here in the Twin City area, it is equal to ALL OF THE OTHER LANDSCAPE SEASONS TOGETHER.
You should be able to walk your grounds these days with our winter without a January and February and little snow. If you need help collecting ideas, let us know.
Give us a call at 952-933-5777 for a winter tour of our landscape garden grounds also.