I'm looking forward to burning a fourth of my prairie this November. It's almost ten years since I've burned my prairie, and now is the time, since it's too wet in the spring. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) land managers consider prescribed burns their most … [Read more...]
Digging in the Garden
Digging in the garden will always be a lifesaver for me. I dig in the soil and cut down invasives. While away from the computer, there are three tools I rely on most: a shovel, pruners, and Gel Roundup. A shovel for removing plants and locating them in a proper place. Pruners and Gel … [Read more...]
Common Burdock (Arctium minus)
Reference my blog post on Parsnip Predator. Wendy Walker wrote, "If the taproot is “sliced” and not fully removed, won’t the plant grow back? I’m primarily concerned with burdock, which you mentioned, as our new property has a large patch of this." I googled for manual control of burdock and … [Read more...]
Creeping Bellflowers – My Back Aches!
I received a comment from Susanne Davis who lives in New York, "I know every perennial’s job is to spread and 'take over.' I have battled all kinds of plants who have done their job better than I wanted them to do. However, this plant makes all the rest seem like slackers. This plant has choked out … [Read more...]
Dame’s Rocket
One of my new neighbors (from Texas) told me that they had seen white and pink flowers on the ditches and woodland fences. Could it be phlox (Phlox pilosa)? It could have been, but it's not. These plants are actually dame’s rocket (Hesperis matronalis), a non-native, very invasive member of the … [Read more...]
Lamiaceae Family
In this hot, very humid weather the invasives are taking control of my lawn. All the species in this genus are native to Eurasia. I asked John Zaborsky of the Wisconsin State Herbarium, "Do I need to eradicate them? The prairie doesn’t seem to mind." He answered, "Maybe. All three spread along the … [Read more...]
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