No, I'm not referring to the violent January 6th takeover of the US Capitol. The attempted takeover under discussion here occurred in my garden. It was sneaky but utterly non-violent and thankfully devoid of any political agenda or human stupidity. The intruder was hiding in plain sight and had clearly been there for some time before I noticed.
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| The fern-like plant is a seedling of Albizia julibrissin (aka mimosa tree). It blended in well with its surroundings. It was more than a foot tall when I finally noticed it, sitting ten or more feet from the tree we removed in late October last year. I think I got most of its root up when I pulled it out but only time will tell. |
I already knew that Albizia was a rampant self-seeder. I've joked that I have nightmares of discovering a grove of full-grown mimosa trees on my back slope. This seedling shows how easily they can grow, even under relatively harsh conditions. It looked far healthier than the Agave lopantha 'Quadricolor' pup next to it on the right, which appears on the verge of collapse after more than a year in the ground.
Checking the surrounding area, I discovered a second intruder keeping a lower profile.
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| This one was rubbing elbows with what appeared to be Ranunculus californicus, our native buttercup, trying not to be noticed under the new Ginkgo biloba tree that replaced the diseased mimosa tree |
Weeds, you have to keep your eyes open so they don't grow into trees.
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All material © 2012-2021 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party