Love it or hate it? Rose of Sharon is an oft-planted ornamental shrub, but it is considered invasive in Pennsylvania. The original bush planted by our home’s previous owners has allegedly colonized our neighbor’s yard and is now trying to expand further into ours. Meanwhile, I’m trying to figure out how to get rid of it before it annexes any more territory.
Once I got around to demolishing the dilapidated fence around our back porch, I knew I had to get rid of it in a responsible way. Landfilling is about as antithetical to “responsible disposal” as I can imagine, but because of the chemicals in pressure treated wood, there aren’t many better alternatives. The real key is making informed choices about whatever replaces it.
Gardening is a constant teacher. I’ve pulled garlic mustard out of my yard pretty inconsistently over the years, but now I know better. Garlic mustard is an established, invasive weed in Pennsylvania that can seriously disrupt the lifecycles of native plants and animals. With time and diligence – and maybe a little culinary creativity – I may yet be able to banish it from my yard.
My never-ending battle in the garden continues, this time with an opportunistic, invasive weed that is often the first to take over in the absence of established plants: thistle. There are different kinds of thistle, and it is important to know what you’re dealing with before you take action because, like me, you could be doing the wrong thing and making your job harder.
Spring yard cleanup time is here, and I need to find the most effective and responsible way to deal with the weeds and brush that I’m pulling out of my yard. I was discouraged to learn that our municipality sends yard waste to the landfill (despite all the trappings of a closed-loop compost program), so I have to take matters into my own hands.
The slow transformation of my yard continues, with gardening choices occasionally coming into conflict with existing hardscapes. After a young ash tree contributed to the demise of a retaining wall last year, I knew that I needed to consider potential long-term consequences of plants as they grow, especially when deciding what type of native hedge to put on top of a retaining wall.
Pollinator gardens are beneficial for birds, bees, butterflies, and other animals too. However, increased residential development and the continual pressure to have a manicured, uniform lawn puts all of those creatures at risk. Some homes are pushing back against societal expectations around landscaping to create safe corridors for native species, but in more than one case, the resulting fight has gotten ugly.
For someone who has always been burdened with an overabundance of hobbies and interests, I found this week’s action of cultivating “high-quality leisure activities” to be an interesting, if confusing one. For years I have fought for more down-time for myself, but I am coming to learn that passive time spent scrolling through social media is neither restful nor healthy.
Somehow we’ve made it to four years of Radical Moderate! Over this time, I have hoped to provide useful information and highlight perspectives that might not be obvious at first, to encourage readers to ask more questions and dig deeper before making decisions. To mark the occasion, we’ll be looking at the traditional fourth anniversary gift (and Valentine’s Day gift) of flowers.
Once we removed my tree, Christian was able to rebuild the retaining wall in our driveway. I learned a lot about the process, which will be useful as more of our walls need assistance. I’m also trying to figure out what to put in the hole left by my tree, but there are a lot of factors to consider for wall and plant health.