WiseAcre Gardens

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Lysimachia clethroides

There’s only one thing that bugs me about this plant.

It’s too aggressive to put in a garden. It prefers moist almost wet soil but that won’t stop it from spreading in dry soils. It might be slowed down a bit but expect it to pratice monoculture if it gets established. Gooseneck Loosestrife will out compete even the toughest weeds.

A couple of transplants moved to the wild edge of the yard have formed a major invasion force in only a few years. The area is wet in spring but by midsummer the soil is very dry. These plants are a bit small because of the dryness but that didn’t stop them from claiming the area for it’s own. One of the few plants I’ve actually seen take on quack-grass and win.

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I was caught by surprise when I went to check on a planting yesterday. I found a Sedum I was trying out had flowered. It wasn’t the fact that it was in bloom that surprised me but that the flowers were a pink / purple.

Sedum spurium

‘Summer Glory’

I usually read the plant tags but when it comes to Sedums I just grab and buy.  This one was no different and I chose it because of it’s low dense spreading growth without thinking about bloom color. I just assumed it would be another yellow flowering sedum.

Sedums are easy to propagate. Break off a stem, stick it in the ground and then forget about it.  Well maybe not that easy but close. In hot dry weather it helps to water the cuttings and keep the soil a little moist.

They thrive in dry sunny conditions as long as the soil is well drained.  They don’t like wet feet and will do poorly if the soil gets saturated for prolonged periods. Cold doesn’t bother most of the Sedums found at garden centers either. They also shrug off the cold winters of the north country of NY. where temps can drop to -40 F.

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What happens when you’re away 3 weeks in June? The weeds start peeking in the windows to see if you’re around.

Common Mullein - Verbascum thapsus 

 My wife considers common mullein to be an ugly weed but I happen to like the plant for it’s foliage.  The silver-gray leaves have a velvet look and feel and in garden conditions  can grow to an impressive height. This is a plant you can really look up to.

A biennial alien wildflower one used for medicinal purposes. My Peterson Field Guide also states that the seed is a narcotic fish posion. Who in the world researched getting fish high on narcotics?

 I really like how this garden bed went ‘wild’ this year. It’s hard to make out in the photo but some Lamb’ Ears (Stachys byzantina) found their way over and seem to be mimicking the mullein with their foliage and flower stalks.

I do have to admit the flowers are not anything to write home about. They’re hardly worth mentioning here.  Only a few flowers seem to bloom at any one time and the flower stalk is never seen full of flowers.

One good thing about this plant. Weeds don’t stand a chance under it. And to ‘weed’ a good space all I need to do is pull up one plant.

So next time one of these germinates in your garden you might want to think twice before pulling it. You never know when you might need to posion a fish.

 One last Photo before I go. I didn’t realize I shot more than the flowers of Yellow Loosestrife until I saw the photo. It made me think of the Green Fingered Photographer and all the great insect photos I’ve seen on his blog. The link to his site is a thank you for him taking the time to come here after I asked him to identify a ‘moth’ I happened to get a photo of the other day. Turns out it was no moth but something between a moth and a butterfly called a Skipper. I was happy to find out I’m not the only thing caught between the rungs on the evolutionary ladder.