The spring invasion

I'm sure many can understand the love/hate dynamic when it comes to plants like the one shown above. These flowers are one of the most delightful sights of spring for me. Very few others form such a beautiful carpet at this time of year—indeed, at any time of year. In a couple weeks, though, I'll be pulling these out wherever I see them, except from the dreaded easeway space, where pretty much anything that will grow is welcome. The best part of it is that the violets will come up just the same next spring, no matter how many I think I'm pulling out.

Sweet woodruff is another such aggressor; it's jumped over a brick wall, and is now the dominant plant in one of my side spaces. Then there is the lamium cultivar—perhaps some sort of reversion—that has pink flowers from spring through fall. It seeds almost everywhere, which is fine with me. It's easy to pull out, if needed. In fact my mantra with the editing the magazine works here—always easier to subtract than to add.

I'd rather be fighting with invasives—which isn't hard in a small space like mine—than coaxing fussy plants to thrive. I love trying new plants, but in the meantime, I know I have a backdrop of various hardy geraniums, dicentra, lamium, gallium, and ferns that will fill in any barren space in no time.