Unfortunately, the builder brought in soil during the last 12 months to finish the area beyond the native plantings. That soil contained a plentiful seed bank of invasive or harmful species. We now have a bothersome crop of knapweed, velvetleaf (shown above), mustard, ragweed, lambs quarter, crabgrass, dock, amaranth, spurge, and thistles surrounding the pond. They are competing with the desirable native plants like milkweed, aster, lobelia, boneset, chamomile, clover, daisy, echinacea, golden alexander, meadow rue, bee balm, penstemon, ironweed, mountain mint, vervain, silene, sunflower, and others.
To protect them, you will see me pulling, snipping, and clipping.
