A weed is but an unloved flower. ELLA WHEELER WILCOX Share this:TweetEmailPrintMoreRedditShare on TumblrLike this:Like Loading... Related 159161
Love the photo, Dev, and the quote even more.
Here in East Tennessee there’s a commonplace plant that grows on banks and hillsides. It’s called (if I’ve got it right) “crownvetch”. Most folks hereabouts think of it as a weed. Wikipedia says it’s invasive and hard to eradicate. It’s toxic to some (though not all) livestock.
At a previous place where we lived, however, we had a bank we knew was going to be very hard to mow or garden. On advice of a friend, we planted it with crownvetch. It crowded out all competitors, created a lush and beautiful ground cover, and spent much of every year decked out with gorgeous flowers. Cheri and I loved it.
Hmm. Here at our current residence, we have an front bank that has devolved into a complete mess. Impossible to weed or control. Now that you’ve reminded me of this hardy flower that some consider a weed, I’ll broach the topic with Cheri. Check back in a year or two, and don’t be surprised if we’ve replaced our whole front with crownvetch. If we do, I’m pretty sure this “weed” will be the envy of our neighborhood!
Thanks Gary. I’m glad you like the photo. I didn’t think I would like it when I took the photo, but after developing and scanning, I realized that it looks quite nice actually. So the quote applies to the photo as well.
About crownvetch: I looked it up and have to say I am surprised people think of that as a weed! It is a pretty flower with pretty leaves! I wonder if it will grow in Arizona. I wouldn’t mind planting it in our front yard and giving it some color. This flower is from a vine we have growing on a fence wall in our yard. I forget what it is called. The flower is pale pink, trumpet shaped. I thought it would be more punchy in color. I love the vine but it is not aggressive by any means. There is another plant that is found here. It’s commonly known as lantana. I’ve seen many different colored lantana flowers (white, yellow, orange, red, pink and purple!) and just like crownvetch it is an aggressive weed. It grows more like a bush though but can easily grow tall and take over other plants. The leaves of lantana are not nearly as pretty. It’s rough and ugly. Lot of people decorate their yards with different lantanas as you can mix and match colors, also they are low maintenance, desert adapted plants. I, on the other hand, hate them. I would very much like to battle your crownvetch against our lantanas and hope the crownvetch wins! 😄