Have you ever put something in the garden that you just shouldn't have? Maybe you thought "I don't have a better place to put this so I'll just stick it in here" or even "I'll stick this plant here and keep it trimmed back." I've thought both of those many times and made mistakes and the latter statement gets me all the time! One of my more recent mistakes was with an artemisia.
Don't get me wrong there are several artemisia varieties can be great or even awesome plants. I love 'Powis Castle' with it's large fluffy mounds of silver foliage and I like 'Silver Mound' also (I would rate it higher if only it wouldn't flop open in the middle). Both of which I'll keep in my garden and neither one is invasive to any degree. In fact I'd be happy if they did spread around a little more! The mistake I'm talking about is with the artemisia that was pawned off on my at a plant swap. You see, I knew the reputation of other artemisias to spread and yet I took the plant home anyway. Once it was home I should have planted it somewhere where it had space to grow and spread without taking over other plantings. Did I? Of course not! I planted it in and among the plants of my deck planting bed. Other plants like boxwoods, caryopteris, a daylily or two, an 'Oranges and Lemons' gaillardia, and probably one or two other plants have now been engulfed by this silvery colored monster artemisia.
And to think this thing started off as a small stem of a plant. Once I get the chance I'll be removing this thug of an artemisia. It's just one of many plants I've decided needs better homes - maybe even in other states.
What does this teach me? Know the plant and put it in the right place for its growth habit! Will I do that?
Without a doubt...
I'll screw up again!
But sometimes mistakes are what makes gardening fun and interesting, or does it just seem that way to me?
What was the last mistake plant you planted?
Labels: deck garden, Invasive Plants, perennial
