When Wisteria And Cactus Run Wild

*Frax's "I told you so smug look"*

Hello!

After all the rain the other day, it was nice to get outside, even if it quickly became as humid as the tropics. The weeds are prolific, multiplying between the real plantings outside the front of the house. If anything makes me feel better, its knowing the rest of the neighbors are desperately fighting against weeds as well.

I've had a plan of attack for a plant that I never should have planted for several weeks. Here is a bit of wisdom: no matter how pretty Wisteria is: do. Not. Plant. it. Unless in a container...and even then watch out~ it self-seeds really well. I had a bad idea to plant it as a lovely accompaniment to my climbing rose out front over our arbor on the front porch. Not a good idea. It was beautiful for about a month~ then decided to take over the entire house! It took Bill, my brother-in-law (who actually dug the roots up!) and I to get rid of the invasive plant. And every spring without fail, it comes back. We dig and pull and chop...and it will not stop.

So chopping back the Wisteria is just part of maintenance of the front of the house. I planted the darn thing, so I try to control it since it's my fault it got planted. It had started twining around one of the bird feeder hangers just a few weeks ago as a tendril...and overnight had jumped to the side of the front door, twining around a decorative item hung on the front! Overnight it seems it's thickness is the size of my finger! I took my rusty trusty snippers and snipped it off at the root~as well as four more suckers trying their best to get going! Then I brought out my secret weapon! Salt.

I'm not sure if it will work, but in the Bible, they used salt to mess up fields of enemies, so why not try? It ought to sink in well after the rain, and it's animal and people friendly. (Frax looked at me dubiously the entire time, as I chopped and hacked, sitting on the ground since my legs refused to coöperate at times). For good measure, I added salt to the trimmings, so that they would be easier to gather up. We will see whether my home-made idea works. I've tried everything else.

At the least, the front looks better. I trimmed the giant cactus as well, which has leanings towards getting away and going crazy too...despite being potted. One baby had already started from a dead leaf on the ground. I yanked it up and tossed it back in the pot...It will grow, I've never seen anything like this cactus~ mom gave me a piece from her old dentist's “beautiful cactus” and the darn thing must have had a conversation with the Wisteria...because it's going crazy as well...and trying really hard to get out of its pot! Frax will have no part of my dealings with the cactus, being smarter than I.

I spent the rest of the afternoon plucking cactus thorns from my exposed arms and legs, and even my hands that had garden gloves on! Frax had his “I told you so!” expression on his face the rest of the day! He is right, but I can't let the Wisteria and Cactus gang up on us, now, can I?

Later,

#wisteria #cactu #plantsgoingnut