Tuesday, April 20, 2010

One of the these things is not like the others - & that's not dandy!

This week my Dianthus / Pinks are in full bloom and that makes me very happy. Pinks are such an easy plant to grow - requiring little attention and delivering big color each spring. This variety is called Maiden Bloom and it has performed really well for us - from eight small plants six years ago to this spreading group of blooms! There's one little problem this year, however. Can you spot it?

Take a closer look - see that familiar fluffy white lollipop?! That's right - it's a dandelion! Little spring weeds are inevitable and usually quickly removed, but this year lots of pesky dandelions are popping up in the lawn and flower beds - did I mention there are lots of them?! We've never had a problem with dandelions before and I have a theory, but, alas, cannot reveal it in the interest of neighbor relations!

So, what to do with a dandelion like this? The obvious answer is to remove it before it gets to this point, but I didn't see it. Isn't that just like a weed? Keeping its head down during the early stages? I could just leave it, but the thought of those seeds blowing over the garden and becoming 50 tiny dandelion plants is just too much . . .

So while I ponder my attack, you might want to think about adding Pinks / Dianthus to your garden - there are so many great ones from which to choose and here's a sampling:

Photos courtesy All Americas Selection & NCCE.

3 comments:

  1. I have some dianthus too. I wish mine were as happy as yours. They are beautiful. Thankfully, we don't have problems with dandelions out here much. But, there are plenty of weeds to take their place!

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  2. Don't yet have dianthus, but I love them! Also adore creeping phlox, which are in bloom right now too.

    We do have tons of weeds this year, though!

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  3. I love phlox as well, but have not had good luck planting it. I tried two years and it just died and slow and flowerless death both times!

    Weeds, however, are the common denominator wherever you garden . . .

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