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.
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
When there is a sweet floral scent in the air in early March, I know the wisteria is blooming. All I have to do is drive my car with the windows down to find a patch of this sweetly scented flowering vine. I’m led by my nose to look around for the soft purple of its blooms. In the South, this vine is omnipresent – in the forest, in …
Continue Reading about This Beautiful Purple Vine Can Be Deadly to a Tree
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
A common early spring weed, purple deadnettle (Lamium purpureum) is a member of the mint family and grows in large clumps in lawns and in disturbed fields. Since it starts growing as early as April, it is often the only green (well, purplish green) thing in the lawn. Its tiny flowers serve as an early source of food for bees. Native to Europe …
Every gardener will encounter poison ivy at some point. It’s an important plant to be able to identify – even when it doesn’t have leaves. All parts of the plant are poisonous. While some people may not have a reaction to this plant, many will get an itchy, painful rash. The substance (uroshiol) that causes the rash or blisters can be …
