From a tiny sprig, a few seeds, the annual Phacelia purshii covers half an acre now. It blooms in late spring with the rhododendrons and iris, literally carpeting the forest floor.
It has hitchhiked its way down to the sunny utility meadow and next door to my place where I have found one small sprig.
That is all it will take. In another few years another acre of the wild cultivated gardens will be covered in a blue mist in late spring.
It obviously must like the conditions here. Each plant is robust in its own right. When it fades, the withered carcass will be pulled away from much of the cultivated to give them more room and fresh air. Those left will fade away to nothing on their own, leaving the seeds for next year.
It's a weed we like and learn to live with.
Now that it is here, to feel otherwise would be futile.
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8 comments:
Weed or not I think it is pretty. I'm guessing it is not long lived & can be invasive.
Lola it germinates, blooms, sets seed and dies in about five months, Feb to June.
I have a wildflower, waterleaf plant, that does the same thing. I just ignore it and it spreads all over. It doesn't muscle out anything else which is why I don't mind it. It just takes up residence in any unused space.
It's impossible to get all the weeds, so you're wise to accept this pretty, relatively inoffensive one. It makes a lovely floor for the rhodies.
If all weeds were so decorative and accommodating, it would save the gardener a lot of time and effort. We might even get around to calling them flowers.
I love your weeds. Wish I had some like that!
I love phacelia....and think it a marvelous weed. The garden looks super duper Christopher.
I was recently at Mt. Cuba Center in Delaware and they also had the phaecelia everywhere; it must have been a good year for it. They pull it out like you do.
bev
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