Foremost amongst all of the gardening adages should be “what’s planted in the garden stays in the garden”. That this is a policy that requires regular review and attention was, to my embarrassment, taught to me the hard way. When we arrived here in Mayo, we planted Yellow Flag Iris along a small ditch at the edge of our land. We had, we thought, done the responsible thing and planted them in plastic drainage pots. It was after several years of admiring from afar, that I noticed that the Iris had escaped, and was galloping across our neighbouring farmer’s field. Hours of digging in a boggy, rocky field followed in order to try and rectify our ‘leak’. And this was required the next year, and the next. Plastic pots may work in many areas, but they are not enough to contain the exuberance of Flag Iris in our part of the world.
Forethought when planting is also important, and not just with the accepted invasive species. Flowers are designed by nature to go forth and multiply and have come up with a number of ingenious methods in which to do so. Seeds often travel further than one might expect, especially as a number of plants have the policy ‘go forth my children and thrive, but not where you can steal my food and space’. I have a soft spot for ornamental poppies., but have to accept that they produce seeds in the tens of thousands. Whilst the land around me is not particular conducive for poppies, I have to balance that with the fact that it’s grazing land: and ornamental poppies are bad news for any animal that eats them. So I need to remember to remove the seed heads every year. Similarly, I would love to sow Red Clover as a green manure, but have to bear in mind that my neighbour, a sheep farmer, may not be best pleased if they were to spread to his land as Red Clover can have a contraceptive effect on sheep.
So good points on good intentions here…
