When To Let Go

I walk through the garden with utter joy at the burgeoning green while a tinge of dread tags along behind.

There is a lot of ground to wander and oodles of botanical delights lurking out there. I check on their progress daily.

It is a lot of ground to cover and there are tons of weeds lurking out there. Many could be pulled or should be pulled. They grow bigger by the day.

It can be dreadfully over whelming when you consider their vast numbers and the vast space they inhabit. But I tell myself in eight short years I have completely changed the nature of the sunny utility meadow with a single minded persistence to eliminate one annoying species, Clematis virginiana.

It has started to bloom more. I am hoping this year will be the best ever with even better to come.

I have to choose my battles and let the rest go. Dandelions are not a menace in the meadow.

And there comes a point early in the season when it is time to stop the major editing. I can only tromp through all corners of the meadow for so long. After a point the damage to crushed plants can leave an imprint all season long.

There wasn't a lot, but there was more phlox this year than I have ever seen.

The same thinking holds true in the garden. I have eliminated the horrid Clematis virginiana for the most part. I can choose a new nemesis to eliminate. The question is, is to too late to start a weeding binge this year? Maybe. I certainly don't want the garden to look crushed all year.

I will continue to edit. I do know that. I just may need to stick to the edges or choose one section for a full assault. I'll think about it. And when the time presents itself I will find out what happens.

If I am going to have thuggish plants then their good qualities have to out weigh the bad. I was happy to see the Plume Poppy, Macleaya cordata, had indeed spread from one petite sprig planted last year to five this spring and has already moved ten inches away from the original plant.

You have to be a bit of a thug to live or work in my garden.