I'm joining Cathy of Words and Herbs this week for her "Wild and Weedy Wednesday" meme. I've got a multitude of true weeds in my garden this year. If there's a positive side to a prolonged drought, it's that there's fewer weeds to pull. This year we've had more than five times the amount of rain we had in the prior water year (21.69 inches versus 4.12 inches in 2022) and it seems I spend a quarter of my time in the garden pulling weeds. If I factor in the time I spend thinning out the more decorative, albeit weedy, plants I tolerate in my garden, it's probably more like half my time.
This post focuses on my five favorite "tolerable weeds." None of these plants are native to coastal Southern California but all have naturalized here. One has been officially designated as invasive in California but all are aggressive spreaders. In spite of this, all are commonly sold by local garden centers.
The first is Centranthus ruber (aka Jupiter's beard), arguably the most vigorous and the most decorative of the lot. Native to the Mediterranean area, it's been found in wild areas in various western states of the US, including California. According to Wikipedia, it tolerates alkaline soil and is often found in rocky areas below 200 meters in elevation. It isn't classified as invasive but I see it along the roadsides here and I've noticed it popping up in many of my neighbors' front gardens.
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| I didn't introduce it to my garden. I found it growing in my northeast side garden when we moved in. |
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| However, I did transplant several divisions from that area to my back slope, which was relatively empty before I began developing it in the early years of our residence. It took off with a vengeance despite very little irrigation. |
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| In my climate, Centranthus prefers our cool spring season. As temperatures rise, the plants quickly go to seed as shown here at the bottom of my back slope. I can't deadhead them fast enough. I need to get down there to cut the flower stalks to the ground but fear of the fire ants has led me to put off that chore. |
Erigeron karvinskianus (aka Mexican fleabane and Santa Barbara daisy) is native to Mexico and parts of Central America. It's not officially classified as invasive but the Plant Right site rated it a moderate potential risk in California, especially if it receives moderate water. It was here when we moved in and it readily moves itself around without any help from me.
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| In my northeastern side garden, it's intermingled with English ivy (a plant that is classified as invasive in California), making it more difficult to manage |
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| It's a lovely graceful plant when it's getting sufficient water but it starts to look sad and weedy once the rain stops (as shown on the left). The plant on the right, mingling with a Teucrium aroarium, is doing better in partial shade. |
Geranium incanum (aka carpet geranium) is a South African native that has naturalized in California. Like the Erigeron, it moves itself around, although in my garden it's most prevalent in the same areas preferred by Centranthus ruber. It's not classified as invasive but it's said to get by without irrigation in coastal areas.
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| In this photo, it's sharing space with Erigeron karvinskianus |
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| The Geranium most often "hides" under taller plants, slowly making its way into the sunlight before it blooms. In the photo on the left, it's growing up through a mass of rosemary. In the photo on the right, it's growing up through ivy on the upper edge of the back slope. |
Unlike the other plants covered in this post, Lobularia maritima (aka sweet alyssum) is classified as invasive by the California Invasive Plant Council. It's native to the Mediterranean basin but it's naturalized here. It's said to like sandy soil like mine. I'm not sure I've every visited a local garden center that didn't have six-packs of this plant in stock year-round. I admit that I've often purchased it for use as a filler in planted containers.
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| I don't go out of my way to photograph the ever-present alyssum but this wide shot taken of my back garden in early May provides a good idea of how widespread it is in the landscape. All of the alyssum shown here was self-planted. |
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| The foreground of this shot, taken at the bottom of the back slope, provides an idea of how much space it covered there. Pulling it up isn't simple. The plants have solid taproots and their side roots often extend over a good foot or more. |
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| One of the few closeup photos I've ever taken of the plant. They love to self-seed between and around flagstones. |
The last of my attractive weeds is Oenothera speciosa (aka pink evening primrose). Native to areas of the Midwest, Texas, and northeastern Mexico, it's naturalized in 48 US states but it's not considered invasive, although I've heard many gardeners complain about its spread. I didn't introduce it here. It spreads itself around more lightly than the other plants described here. To date, it prefers my northeast side garden and back slope.
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| The top photo on the left shows the flowers in my northeast side bed. The group shown on the lower left was photographed at the bottom of the slope. |
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| It even self-seeds in densely packed gravel |
Visit Cathy at Words and Herbs to see which wild and weedy plants she's featuring this week.
All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party