THE YEN AND YANK OF GARDENING
By Mark Stith
I might be forced to like pokeweed and its rowdy compadres. But not today. The thought is growing on me, however. As if I had a choice. The plants sure as hell are.
A very impressive, 12-foot-tall, multi-trunked pokeweed juts over the rocky edge of a severe (15 degree) slope in my back yard. All that�s missing is a flock of vultures (what DO you call a gathering of vultures? A gaggle? Pall bearers?).
Which leads me to the Yen and Yank of Gardening. Here�s a list of plants I yank, then a list of plants I yen. Plants with an asterisk on the Yank roster indicate a potential, conditional acceptance. Keep in mind the definition of a weed: a plant out of place. Roses, for example, just aren�t appropriate at the top of Mount Mitchell on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Top Ten Yanks (horticultural/philosophical, not political)
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1. Pokeweed: Phytolacca Americana*
2. Catbrier (ow!): Smilax rotundifolia
3. Dandelion*: Taraxacum officinale
4. Privet
5. Vinca minor (who the hell called this minor? I don�t believe I want to meet the major one): Vinca minor
6. Kudzu: Pueraria lobata
7. Virginia creeper*: Parthenocissus quinquefolia
8. Poison Ivy: Rhus radicans
9. Mimosa: Alvizia julibrissin
10. Anything other than grass growing in the lawn: Weedus irritatum
Top Ten Yens (to include trees, shrubs, annuals, perennials- basically, anything with roots)
1. Peonies. Especially the simple, single bloom varieties. Glorious, elegant, sophisticated, and easy to grow.
2. Salvia � not the spindly blue-spiked stuff (Victoria blue) you see far too often everywhere, but any of the much bigger, better, and more spectacular ones, such as Mexican bush sage (Salvia leucantha).
3. Sasanqua camellias. Any of them. Rangy, much less disciplined than the stuffy, uptight japonicas your grandmother grew. The flowers aren�t as big and showy as japonicas, but so what. What they lack in show they make up for in style and form. Much, much prettier in the landscape, too.
4. Hibiscus. It�s right on the edge of tacky, but I can�t think of a single plant that has more flower-power per square inch. How can you not like a plant with flowers the size of dinner plates?
5. Lady Banks rose. Bonus points for a rose 1. Sans thorns 2. That you don�t have to create a witch�s brew of chemicals to keep clean and healthy 3. And just looks plain pretty, with green branches that arch gracefully.
6. Asters.� Blue flowers in the garden are so uncommon and so stunning-especially in the fall, when these flowers reach full glory.
7. Daylilies. Wait, before you get up in arms about this one, I like the good old orange tawny daylilies you see growing along the roadside in summer. They were here first, and they still win the ribbon at my flower show.
8. Daffodils. Does any other flower announce �Spring is here� with more flourish and finesse? Daffodils trumpet winter�s demise and the prelude of pretty things to come. And the favorite of the bunch? Carlton comes close, but all of them, just all of them.
9. Sunflowers. Maybe hibiscus does have a rival for the most flower-per-foot of foliage. But a field full of sunflowers (did you know they actually turn to follow the sun�s path across the sky?)
10. Vitex, also known as chaste tree. I had to put a tree in here, and this one is my favorite of the moment. Palmate leaves (my neighbor thought I was growing marijuana plants, seriously) offer up richly aromatic purple flower spikes in summer.
I have to admit I left out so, so many other favorites, and want to apologize to them all (ok, bluebonnets, dogwoods, sumac, ironwood, Japanese maples, and others) for not mentioning them. Perfect reason for doing a sequel, don�t you think?
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