Worst of the Weeds

There's so much happening in the garden just now it is difficult to decide what to write about. The hyacinths I have gradually  been planting out year by year as they finish their Christmas display have now become substantial clumps, pink, blue and white. The primroses are everywhere - they really like my heavy, wet clayey garden. The  periwinkles are in full flower. Mine are a rare variety called Vinca major var. Oxyloba which has unusually narrow, windmill shaped petals and  purple flowers. 

Vinca major 'Oxyloba'

Periwinkles are often listed among garden weeds - but I deliberately introduced them to the garden where they cover bare patches very effectively. Which leads me to weeds in general. In the main, I encourage what many people call weeds, They introduce such a lot of variety into the garden. Many are edible, many are attractive, many are excellent groundcover and most can be dug up if you have something you think more worthwhile to replace them. Some which do well in my garden include rose campion, wild violet (really - a weed?), common mallow,  forget-me-not, white clover, self heal and more. 

However, the thing I've been  battling with this year has been the proliferation of buttercups. I've had the creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens) for years. It has very pretty leaves and, of course, later on,  that particularly magical shiny yellow flower.  I've found it not too difficult to pull up the ones in the wrong places. I tell myself that, over time, the less I dig and the more I mulch the less sticky and wet the soil will be and the easier everything will be  to deal with. It's certainly working in large parts of the garden. 

Creeping buttercup leaves

Bulbous buttercup leaves

But in recent years the creeping buttercup has been been joined by its cousin the bulbous buttercup (Ranunculus bulbosus) which is not so pretty leaf-wise and an absolute thug. It insinuates itself into the roots of my chosen plants and it's essential to do the weeding now while they are still small enough to be divided  from each other without damage.  

Buttercups spread by roots, suckers and shoots and,  also love this sticky clay which makes them even more difficult to uproot. The only good I can say about this bulbous one is is that it helps to fill up the compost. I now have a long handled three-pronged  hand fork - very lightweight and just the right size to dig up one plant at a time. Dig in, twist and out it all comes because luckily, they have short roots. 

I have read somewhere that the Mexican Tagetes minuta, or giant marigold will kill buttercups if grown nearby, but do I really want to grow that many tagetes? 

Meantime, the birds are busy and I've had visitations from parakeets - sweeping in from Hampstead Heath or wherever, to sit exotically in the branches of the apple tree and the lime. The garden birds don't like them and disappear into the surrounding bushes until they've gone. They have their beady eyes on my newly hung up peanut bird feeder. 

Much more welcome was the sight of the tiny wren in the branches of the wisteria. I'm told one wren weighs as much as two A4 sheets of paper. So how on earth do they have the energy to produce that penetrating call?