Hello everyone! I hope this post finds you well. Friday was very windy as the 90° F temperatures attempt to blow in for a few days. To be honest, when those cool temps start coming, I wouldn’t mind 90° 12 months a year. Maybe in the 80’s.

I was working on the plant family Araliaceae so I went outside to get a photo of the English Ivy growing in and around the old foundation. Then I noticed something growing that hadn’t been there before. The next thing I knew I was taking more photos and even found a new wildflower in the foundation. That triggered an idea for this post. There are areas and plants that need some attention. Has anyone ever asked you, “Is it a wildflower or a weed?” Well, there are plenty of both here and sometimes what was once a wildflower becomes a weed. The word invasive comes to mind… Since I moved back here in 2013 I have noticed how some species are invasive one year and the next they have all but disappeared.

The above photo is the English Ivy (Hedera helix) that has engulfed the basement steps on what used to be my grandparent’s old home. I lived in this house for six years in the early 1980’s and I don’t remember it being here. Now that there is just a foundation, it has run rampant on one wall and a few other areas. It is hard to believe the nine varieties of ivy I grew in pots in Mississippi were the same species… Battling this stuff can get rather ridiculous since it wants to get into the beds next to the foundation.

Mixed in with ivy on what used to be the back porch was a vine I hadn’t noticed before. Then I walked around to the northwest corner, looked into the basement, and found a good-sized mess of it. I first thought it was Celastrus scandens (American Bittersweet) like what started growing in the Multiflora Rose in the front pasture. With a closer look, I discovered is was something different…

I took photos and uploaded them on iNaturalist and found out it is “likely” Ampelopsis cordata, the Heart Leaf Peppervine… I say “likely” because no one has had time to approve the observation. Once it gets approved the photos and observation will become research grade.

It has likely been there for a while by the looks of it, I just haven’t noticed. Some invasive species grow very fast, though. Information says it is native to the southeastern U.S., but it has been observed in half of the United States and parts of Mexico. It is considered an invasive species outside its native range… YIKES!

 

I have been battling the Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) in the foundation for a long time. I have it almost whipped, or so I like to think. It has also tried growing on the barn and doesn’t like to give up. It is growing on a lot of the trees north of the chicken house and in the fencerows by the hayfield.

Then I found this plant in the basement that is “likely” Euphorbia dentata whose common name is Toothed Spurge and Green Poinsettia.

I didn’t want to crawl down into the old basement to get good close-ups so I just zoomed in… It is said to be highly variable depending on its growing conditions (prefers damp areas). This is an annual species and it makes me wonder how it got in the basement in the first place. For sure, it is likely damp down there. 🙂

 

I know, I know… A lot of people love the Crape Myrtle but I prefer calling it Crap Mrytle. There were 3-4 growing along the house in the 1980’s and I thought they died one spring. I planted a row of Red Barberry to replace them but the next spring the Crape Myrtle started coming back up. Dad didn’t like the Red Barberry because of its thorns, but I guess he liked the Crape Myrtle. There is only one left in this spot and it has likely been here since 1958 or so. Dad even put two on the south side of their house. GEEZ!!! I will admit, the HUGE Crape Myrtle “trees” growing at the mansion in Mississippi were OK and the one growing at a house across the creek was AWESOME with its beautiful mottled trunk. It was HUGE and AWESOME! I can’t believe I said that! The first time I saw Crape Myrtle trees was when I was living in California for a few months in 2008. I was amazed! They only grow as shrubs here and come up from the ground each spring. The squirrels love their seed pods and nearly drove me insane at the mansion. I had pots hanging in the trees and the squirrels would jump in them to get the seeds. Needless to say, I had to relocate the pots…

Anyway, I will move on from that…

Then, I looked toward the chicken house to my own mistake…

OK, so I should have known better. Actually, I wasn’t 100% sure what would happen, maybe 75%. Anyway, let’s go back in time for a minute so I can explain myself… I was living at the mansion in Leland, Mississippi and I got acquainted with a lady who had an impressive yard. It was so impressive it was in a magazine. I will not mention her name because I am sure she wouldn’t want to be known for this plant. Anyway, when I was at her house for the first time, she had been battling the Equisetum in her backyard and told me how bad it was. She gave me the start of several perennials, one of which I still have. However, she did not give me the start of my Equisetum. Instead, she warned me and didn’t want it at the mansion. Driving around Leland, I found this yard with  HUGE Agave protoamericana and Equisetum growing along the side of her house, in the front yard by the Agave, and even in the ditch (which she kept mowed off). Well, I stopped and got acquainted with the lady and she told me I could dig up some Horsetail… SO, I did. I was very careful with it and kept them in pots. That was in 2010… The next year I put all the plants in the same pot and they took off. I brought the pot with me when I moved back to the farm in 2013 but I still kept them in the pot (which I kept enlarging). I even brought it inside for the winter. After a couple more years I told dad I was thinking about putting it in front of the chicken house. Nothing seemed to grow well there and the moles were bad in that spot. I told him if I did, they might spread like crazy. He said it was OK and we could just keep them mowed off. It seemed to be a slow process at first, but it took over the area in front of the chicken house on the north side. It started growing in the grass, somehow got across (or under) the concrete slab in front of the door t the other side. The Equisetum is no longer just in front of the chicken house…

It started coming up in the grass where I mow then spread into the area that used to be the peach orchard (a LONG TIME AGO). I have ideas for this area and it doesn’t include the Equisetum…

I seriously do like Equisetum hyemale, but I learned my lesson. I will not give any of this to anyone else even though I could probably take 100 pots or more to the greenhouse. It is an amazing species that has been around since prehistoric times and I can see why.

I walked around the south side of the chicken house to get a photo of a complete nightmare…

The area behind the chicken house is impossible to mow because the roots from the Chinese Elms are sticking up above the ground. The Ambrosia trifida (Giant Ragweed) have taken over. Until a few years ago, the pollen from ragweed didn’t bother me that much. Last fall and this fall I think it has gotten to me a little more. This stuff likes to take over areas it knows I can’t mow.

I walked around the barn into the pasture which will be part 2… I think I will venture farther and take more photos for a few more posts. That way my posts won’t be so long and take so long to get ready.

Until next time, be safe and stay positive. Stay well and always be thankful!