It's a Jungle Out There

When I was down at the bridge the other day, I happened to notice how many plants were vying for a place in the sun. This is the ground that slopes down to the river.

Several of these are invasive plants, but apparently none more than others. Wild roses, wild grapes and several different trees are co-existing with poison ivy.

Crown vetch dominates the roadside, along with chicory.

My front yard is mostly chicory, so I am considering changing the name from Hickory Acres to Chicory Acres.

After last summer's drought, conditions seem to be favorable for the return of everyone's least favorite weed, the thistle.

They are everywhere here in the country. Soon, their seeds will be floating hither and yon. The flowers are soft and fragrant but the plant is all stickers that make the other invasive plants look benign.

Years ago, there was a big outbreak of these pasture spoilers. There was  a weevil that attacked them and destroyed the roots. I'm hoping for a recurrence of that scenario. However, so far, I see no weevil, hear no weevil and can only speak about the weevil.