The Great Thistle Wars Let me say that I do not know a lot about landscaping, a novice gardener to the hilt. I like my yard looking just right, but I am never quite sure to get it to look the way I want it to. I am therefore an avid checker of Rightplantz, texter of my landscaper dad, when in doubt winging it with a hope and prayer gardener. However the one thing I know about gardening is I HATE weeds.
Each Saturday I gear up, armed with my purple floral gardening gloves, my fan rake, and my duct-taped laundry hamper, ready to go to battle. I forage the frontiers of each garden bed, searching for who doesn’t belong; occasionally stopping for a quick “is this a weed?” Google search. It is a slow campaign, meticulously examining each gardening bed, making sure no weeds have made their home there. Sometimes there are obstacles to reaching a weed like awkward angles, prickly roses, and the occasional giant ant hill. It is all worth it when you pull out a weed, see all of the roots and think “ha no more weeds will grow here!” And yet somehow, one always does. This goes on from March to October. Once I think I defeat the weeds in a garden bed, new enemies appear; from Creeping Charlie to Dandelions to my arch nemesis, Thistle. Oh Thistle, how I hate thee the most. Thistle is not a battle for the faint of heart. Even in a dried-out bare spot or in a beautifully mulched bed, thistle manages to poke its thorny head through. It even managed to make a garden bed of its own which I have now nicknamed “my little thistle garden.” Despite my natural weed spray concoction, my careful pulling of this prickly plant, it seems to multiply nightly. Even so, this pattern brings me some reassurance. I know every week the weeds will always be there for me. No matter what else is going on in the world, spring, summer, and fall there will be more weeds to pull. In this time of uncertainty, it is nice that to know there is at least one thing for certain; the weeds will always grow back. Time to don my gloves and return to the fight; I can see the Thistle regrouping.
About The Author
The writer is a RightPlantz member new to gardening and agreed to share her adventures in gardening with the RightPlantz community. She lives in the Dayton, Ohio area
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