While one should be reluctant to use herbicides at the best of times, there are two kinds that are especially worth avoiding altogether.
Chemical weed killers or herbicides should be used as sparingly as possible in gardens as a whole, but especially in private ones. Excessive use of them is bad for the ecological balance in the garden itself, as much wild life is deterred from establishing itself, and in the wider sense, is a serious form of pollution.
While there is no shortage of plants with colored leaves, the home gardener does not always choose them wisely. Here are some tips for getting the best out of them, and avoiding some of then pitfalls.
There is a large range of plants with colored foliage available to the gardener today. Reddish-purple, golden-yellow, silver, and grey-leaved plants, not to speak of the many types of variegated leaf, abound in nurseries and garden centers. Amongst all the plant forms ? from trees to ground covers, one can find varieties that have brightly colored leaves. The challenge is to use them wisely and not be carried away by false notions of novelty or originality.
There are uglier weeds than Wood Sorrel, (Oxalis) but not many as difficult to treat. Within a bed of ground cover plants for example, it can be disastrous.
Oxalis, commonly known as Wood Sorrel, is hardly one of the ugliest of weeds. On the contrary, many species are favored perennials in garden beds, with their delicate, clover-like leaves, and attractive blooms. Yet one species of Wood Sorrel, Oxalis pes-caprae, can be in certain circumstances, one of the most annoying and difficult weeds to eradicate.