Dependable Erection

Friday, April 11, 2008

Friday flower blogging


Hey, anyone know what these are? They're all over my back yard this week. Thanks.

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13 Comments:

  • Ajuga.

    By Blogger MK, at 3:18 PM  

  • i can't tell if they are ajuga or not without seeing the leaves. When we planted ajuga about 16 years ago, the landscaper said "You're PLANTING ajuga?!"

    Ajuga is quite an aggressive plant, but Japanese stilt grass overgrew it in our yard in a single season. Now THAT is an invasive species in sore need of a biological control.

    steve bocckino

    By Blogger steveb, at 5:27 PM  

  • Oh yeah, it's definitely Ajuga. I hope you like bees, Barry. They love it, which made me avoid it as much as possible when I was a kid. It's pretty, though. :)

    By Blogger Lenore, at 8:25 PM  

  • i've pulled up a few photos of ajuga online, and i think that's a pretty good identification, it certainly puts out tons of runners and spreads pretty well. i kind of like it, even though it is a bit aggressive. i've got a fair amount of bamboo grass in the backyard that i've been trying to get rid of. this stuff looks like it might help.

    and yes i like bees. if it works out for me, i wouldn't mind keeping a hive or two here, and maybe doing it commercially sometime down the road.

    plus, i don't know if any of you have tried any of my mead. i think i do a good job of fermenting honey.

    By Blogger Barry, at 10:09 PM  

  • those are flowers. blue, almost purple in color. but definitely flowers.

    By Blogger Sean Lilly Wilson, at 12:31 AM  

  • can i put 'em in beer?

    By Blogger Barry, at 12:58 AM  

  • Barry,

    If what you are calling "bamboo grass" is this:

    http://www.ellerbecreek.org/microstegium.htm

    your ajuga has no chance against it.

    steve bocckino

    By Blogger steveb, at 5:29 AM  

  • Microstegium is an annual. If you pull it up before it goes to seed for a couple of years, you can get rid of it.

    By Blogger MK, at 6:55 AM  

  • I've been pulling it up as i can the past years, and keeping it in check. I transplanted some of the ajuga two years ago without knowing what it was and it thrived on the banks of a creek bed i built in the lower portion of the backyard. It's also established itself along an old garden wall that the microstegia likes pretty well, so we'll see how they battle it out this year.

    knowing what it is and how it grows, i should be able to establish a couple of more colonies around the yard this fall.

    i'm off to save the world this morning. look for a Big Mouth post around noon.

    By Blogger Barry, at 7:19 AM  

  • Microstegium---aka Japanese stilt grass, bamboo grass--- has infested the woods next to our house. I've tried pulling it out and mowing it before it seeds---good solutions for a small area---but it's growing in a huge area. Part of it borders a stream, which is illegal to clear. Even the deer won't eat it.

    By Blogger steveb, at 9:20 AM  

  • I see that Sean follows my own sophisticated method of botanical classification.

    Another method:

    Stuff I planted.

    Stuff Barry planted.

    Stuff that was growing when we moved here.

    Did you plant that?

    I think I remembered planting that but I'm not sure.

    Where did that come from?

    Didn't I plant something here last year?

    Why did I plant that there?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:29 AM  

  • My expertise is in weeds. Lots of 'em. Especially that dad-narbed stiltgrass. At least it pulls up easily.

    By Blogger Sean Lilly Wilson, at 3:26 PM  

  • This comment has been removed by the author.

    By Blogger Joseph H. Vilas, at 11:59 AM  

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