Garden Experiments
For the love of gardening and wildlife habitat
Learning about invasive plants and weeds can help us make decisions about the plants in our garden. Invasive plants may look beautiful but they can quickly take over your garden and are hard to get rid of. Weeds are normal in any garden, but to get rid of them, they have to be identified first. Learn about invasive plants so that you can avoid planting them. Learn about weeds to find ways to remove them and control them in your garden.
Have you ever found a plant in a garden center that caught your eye, then planted it in your garden, only to have it start taking over? It can be quite the surprise! Many popular ornamental plants are actually invasive species that spread quickly and can disrupt local ecosystems. But don’t worry! This short guide will help you identify some of …
Continue Reading about 10 Common Garden Plants You Might Not Know Are Invasive
You might find this low-growing plant with scalloped leaves creeping along the ground under tall trees where the soil is often moist. While its pale purple flowers of creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea) are cute, the quick growth of this plant is definitely not. Where is creeping Charlie from? Originally brought from Great Britain, …
Do you smell rotting mushrooms or fish when you're outdoors right now? Don't worry; it's not just you. It's the dreaded scent of Pyrus calleryana or the Bradford Pear tree. The Bradford pear tree puts on a lovely show of branches thick with white flowers. But, this tree has a dark side. It's invasive! Native to China and Vietnam, these trees …
Continue Reading about Why You Should Avoid Planting Bradford Pears
Have you ever plucked a honeysuckle flower, turned it around, and gently sucked the nectar from the tube-shaped back of the flower? If you grew up in the southeastern U.S., I bet you did. That taste of super-sweet honey nectar always makes me think of summer nights spent chasing fireflies and summer days spent running wild and free. Imagine …
Continue Reading about Japanese Honeysuckle vs Native Honeysuckle Vine
Wisteria vines bloom in early March, adding a sweet floral scent to the air. The flowers appear before the leaves. In the South, this vine is everywhere—in the forest, in neighborhoods, in rights-of-way, and even along highways. That is both the joy of and the pitfall of Chinese wisteria, which has purple flowers that grow on a …
Continue Reading about Chinese Wisteria: Beautiful but Deadly Vine with Purple Flowers
Wild Garlic (Allium vineale) can be difficult to remove from your garden. If you see one leaf, then you can be sure that more will soon be on its way. It’s not native to the U.S. and was introduced from Europe. Garlic is perennial, grows in clumps, and has hollow, round, grass-like leaves. If you’re not sure if that’s what you have in your yard, …
Continue Reading about How to Identify Wild Garlic and Get Rid of It
