Invasive plants on the lam

Butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii) is a Class B Noxious Weed in the State of Washington.

Notify the authorities if it approaches your garden.

Photo: Bildtankstelle.de

I read up on invasive plants last week and enjoyed the lively descriptions of their behavior. My favorite--"escaping from cultivation."

Don't you love the prison-break movie sound of that? Some invasives even have prison-style nicknames: Albizia julibrissin goes by "Silk Tree", Pueraria labata "Kudzu", and Perilla frutescens is leader of the chain gang as "Beefsteak".

These invasives deserve their own film about breaking out of a perennial border. Here's a preview of some plant-action-movie sequences:

Plants gathering at night under outdoor lighting to draw diagrams of the garden (with plant marker pencils filched from the potting bench).

Buddleias filing down metal tools when the gardener isn't looking. (That's what happened to your missing trowels).

Invasives coordinating their wristwatches.

Digging tunnels.

And then running wildly across the open land outside the garden fence.

The most exciting horticultural film since Avatar, coming to you in 2011 from Fox Searchlight. Title TBA but may be Cool Hand Loosestrife. Your suggestions?

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Narcissus 'Misty Glen' takes home the Wister Award

Narcissus 'Misty Glen'

Photo courtesy of DaffSeek and Colorblends Flowerbulbs.

The what award?

We all watched the Academy Awards two weeks ago. The Wister Award is the daffodil version of the Oscar for Lifetime Achievement. 'Misty Glen' is pictured above--she's wearing white, which was not as big as silver on the red carpet this year, but elegant nevertheless. 'Misty Glen' is still clutching her Wister, presented to her last weekend by the American Daffodil Society at their National Convention.

To earn this honor 'Misty Glen' was required to be a "good grower" with a "floriferous habit", "showy at a distance" and "resistant to basal rot".

In her acceptance speech she thanked her parents, 'Easter Moon' and 'Pigeon'; her hybridizer, Frederick Board; the bulb sellers who promoted her in the horticultural community; and the many home gardeners who gave her the opportunity to perform in their front yards.

I'm going to offer her a starring role in my garden next year. If you live in USDA Zones 4-8 you could do the same. Industry sources say she's not a prima donna.

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My garden reminds me of a Bergman film

Death in The Seventh Seal (1956), directed by Ingmar Bergman

This afternoon I noticed cobwebs on the edges of the incense cedar. Then I saw the weeping cherry had strangely yellow leaves on three branches. As I raked up the dead grass on the back lawn it all seemed too symbolic, and I felt like I was in a Bergman movie full of ominous portent.

Meanwhile, the rest of Nevada County was bursting with ripe peaches and brilliant sunflowers.

I may be half-Scandinavian, but I want to ditch gloomy Bergman and find a new director. My garden could use a lively musical number by Busby Berkeley.

What's the opening scene in your garden right now? Who would direct your garden film this summer?

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Hot-blooded houseguests

The undeniable glamour of tropical plants is temptation indeed for gardeners who live in cold-winter climates. Those three-foot leaves; those lethal, trumpet-shaped Datura blooms--they're all Ava Gardner compared to the Doris Day domesticity of our faithful hollies and lilacs.

So in early summer we succumb, we buy, we lug them around the garden to just the right spot, we rush out with sheets as the evenings get colder. And finally we have to do it. One day turns far too chilly and we invite them to crowd indoors with us until spring.

Ava Gardner, with her long cigarette holder and her way of taking over a party, was sensational outside in a large garden. Living with her at close quarters is another matter.

Just how many times do you want your face slapped by a banana leaf as you edge your way through the dining room this winter?