So hooray for hacienda creeper and Happy Fall, Y'all!Earlier today I was enjoying a post by Society Garlic about weeding she has done recently in her lettuce beds. I am a horrible procrastinator when it comes to weeding.
I rationalize I am letting the weeds get large enough to make it easier to get a good grip on them, but really I am just ducking the chore until I can't stand it any longer or there is some apparent threat posed by the encroaching weediness to the plants I am actually trying to grow.
Besides, as long as I leave my glasses in their case, everything looks all lovely and green.
With corrected vision however, the truth is out there. Our beds are currently nutgrass and bermuda havens, training camps for all sorts of invasive behaviors in waiting.
Along with weed removal, the idea of digging out our invasive nandina bushes has been a task I have delayed to the point of ignoring. I console myself with the knowledge that if I keep the berries cut off, at least I am not feeding those berries to birds who will then fly all around the neighborhood, cheerily depositing the seed materials along with a little dose of fertilizer for good measure.
Problem is, I really like the way the berries look. It is not unheard of for me to leave them on the bushes way too long, only to finally head out with pruning shears in hand to discover most of them already long gone. Consumed and presumably sown.
So today I got busy and took all the berries off the nandinas but rather than putting them safely into the trash this year I instead channeled the Great Martha and arranged them into two displays for our front porch.
I am keeping a close eye to make sure these stay decorative and don't turn into freeform bird feeding stations, but am optimistic that most of the birds around here are so used to our regularly filled feeders with water close by in the back that they'll skip a visit to the front porch to gnosh on berries.
If we do get a Hitchcockian assault out front, I'll go back to Plan A and in the trash they'll go. In the meantime, I think the arrangements look pretty durned spiffy.
Totally festive, yes?
Looks cosy on your porch. I'll just sit myself down in that rocking chair and hope a cuppa will come my way :-)
ReplyDeleteLove the driftwood.
Jo if I ever find you on my porch, a cup of tea will most certainly be part of the deal. Say, is Martha Stewart a big deal across the pond?
ReplyDeleteThat looks really nice. I had supper with a British friend a couple of weeks ago and she used Nandina for the center piece, leaves and berries. It looked really good as well.
ReplyDeleteI cut off our nandina berries too, Deb, although with nandinas in every neighboring yard it hasn't cut down on the number of seedlings. Seeing your lovely arrangements think I should have been less efficient!
ReplyDeleteThat Rooster is a Good Thing.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Martha Who?
ReplyDeleteJoking!
No, not a big deal. Too twee for us I suppose.
Probably only known for going to jail.
Wonder what her cell looked like.
Is the hacienda creeper Virginia creeper? It looks like it but mine isn't that lovely color. On weeding: yep, you've inspired me. It's so pesky, though, when I pluck out a good seedling too. Grr. On nandina arrangements, very lovely! Put your guilt away, I can't imagine the birds getting them. I finally hired someone two years ago to get them out, since it was obvious I wasn't making headway. I don't know that the birds were spreading berries but their thicketing was a problem for me. I planted them years ago when told they were recommended as good xeriscape plants, which they are. And the leaves and berries are such a pretty color in winter. Just can't win sometimes, you know?!
ReplyDelete