Things you regret planting (flowers, growing, cat, trees)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I was pulling out some bee balm/Monarda for the umpteenth time yesterday, and muttering under my breath what an idiot I had been to plant it. The darn thing vines and takes over everything. To make matters worse, the bees and hummingbirds I was trying to attract prefer lots of other flowers over the bee balm. So I got thinking about things I wish I'd never planted. Here's my top 3 other planting regrets:
(1) Lily of the Valley. WHAT WAS I THINKING? It reminded me of my childhood, and so I got a dozen pips from some mail order company and planted them in my front shade garden. The first couple of years were very nice. Lovely fragrance. Then one day, I realized I had a lovely fragrance for about 2 weeks a year. The price I had to pay was that my entire garden had been taken over by Lily of the Valley. Other than those 2 weeks, all I had was some boring green leaves. I started digging and chopping. It took me 2 springs/summers to get rid of them all. Never again!
(2) Black-eyed Susan/Rudbeckia. I decided to plant a wildflower patch (in my front lawn, no less!) one year. In the wild flower "mixture" I bought were plenty of black-eyed Susan seeds. 10 years later, I still get lots of fuzzy volunteer seedlings. Every year! I pull one up, and 20 more come to the funeral. I just cannot get rid of all my black-eyed Susan. I must admit they are cheerful, but they are just so invasive and happily use up all the nutrients in the soil, while my other plants suffer the consequences. Bye-bye Susan.
(3) Violets. This wasn't something I planted intentionally, but I allowed a few wild ones to grow in my garden because I liked the flower and the scent and the fact that it grew in the shade. Like the Lily of the Valley, it wasn't long before the violets were choking off every other plant. I went crazy one summer and dug most of them out, but I am still fighting the battle. I spotted a few more yesterday. They will be dispatched shortly.
Hahahaha Do we have all night and into next week for me to list my wrecks?
MY problem is I keep doing it over and over.
Trying to remember the names.
1. Tall purple Amaranth. Gone now.
2. Mallow flower
3. Dames Rocket
4. As much as I LOVE my hollyhocks I am going to list them too.
5. Maybe the Aspen trees.
6. Not planted but let grow now violently beheading it. Cat mint.
7. Lemon Balm. But it is growing where nothing else will so I am going to try to tame it down
a bit.
8. Larkspur Again it is beautiful but so invasive then weedy looking if you want it to go to
seed. I am going to pull it early next year. Start thinning it back.
9. White daisy. It takes over. Not Shasta. It might even be considered a noxious weed in our
county.
I am sure there is more. I just can not think right now with out seeing it. the next coouple of years I plan on being brutal in trying to gain control. and every bit of it has been my own fault as I am the person that did this yard from scratch. Sigh.
Trumpet vine! Everytime I turn my back to it it is popping up somewhere else in the yard. It is literately growing through a dime size space between my deck boards. Nothing like having a vine growing up your leg while trying to enjoy a family bbq. And the more you trim it to keep it in check the more shoots pop up somewhere else. All my other mistakes are easily dug out, but not this monster!
Trumpet vine! Everytime I turn my back to it it is popping up somewhere else in the yard. It is literately growing through a dime size space between my deck boards. Nothing like having a vine growing up your leg while trying to enjoy a family bbq. And the more you trim it to keep it in check the more shoots pop up somewhere else. All my other mistakes are easily dug out, but not this monster!
It came with this house when I moved in 5 years ago. My son had put up a lattice barrier to keep the dog out from under the deck and addition on the back of the house. So the vine comes up through the deck. It's a mess. I gotta take that barrier down, no easy chore. There will still be plenty of vine to attract the hummingbirds.
Where I lived before, planted a tree too close to the house. Planted a tree too close to the driveway. Now I know better.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
