Yesterday was the annual Nursery Crawl my gardening friend Ms. A and I embark on every May. We were joined by Mom G. this time. Google Maps is enlisted and a route is planned out. This year began with homemade cinnamon rolls and mimosas. The it was off to traverse six nurseries/garden centers by the end of the day.

Each year I am getting a better handle on self-control when making this trip. Saturday I only bought three perennials I did not have on my list. I did find and purchase the “Sweet Tea” Heuchera I spotted at a Home & Garden show this past March. I also picked up some carpet Phlox, on sale because it is no longer in bloom, for an angled garden bed where I’m having a hard time keeping soil in place. This trip also is when I purchase annuals for the two hanging baskets and one planter for the backyard.

The above planter is a snapshot of the starting line for my annual arrangements. It contains Vista Purple Salvia, Visita White Salvia, potato vine, Apple Cider Mix Pansies, a Sun Coleus, and Joseph’s Coat.

We also have two hanging baskets on the backyard of the Lot. This arrangement is similar to the one above, just simplified. Instead of the Joseph’s Coat and Sun Coleus, these baskets contain Lotus Vine. The baskets always dry out so fast, I placed a layer of landscape fabric between the soil and straw-like material to help. This way tried last year and worked well, so I hope this year will be the same.

And of course, the quality of any task in the backyard garden of the Lot is always being monitored. Thank goodness for our four-footed garden helpers. If it were not for their constant supervision, we may be wallowing in a weed patch by now.

My Other Half and I discovered this past weekend we again, like last year, have a baby bun on The Lot. He of course was redonkulous about it, and referred to the little, hopping ball of floof as a “rabbit.” Bah. All I could do was squee, especially when the little one ran about and hopped/kicked into the air as it played.

Baby bun was hopping about the back yard munching away at spent dandelion stalks. I did keep an eye on the little one to see if it would make it’s way to the backyard salad bar (aka raised garden beds). It did not. Granted, all we have growing there right now are snow peas, spinach, garlic, and chives.

Already many of my garden friends have rolled their eyes and informed me the uber cuteness will not last as baby bun will eventually begin to gobble our veggies. Well, then I’ll have more to write about. How to Protect Veggies from Your Buns

Last year’s baby bun did not really bother our veggies. When the snow peas came up, they were immediately gobbled. However, no one has been tried on this matter. There is no evidence against bun-kind. Also, after the first munching, the snow peas bounced back and provided a great crop. The same seems to be happening this year.

One thing I do worry about is our four-footed garden helpers interacting with the bun. Today as the three of us were outside in the garden to have lunch, one of helpers flushed baby bun from the lavender and chased it about. I know bun is adorable, that’s a given, but I do not want my own babies tangling with it. It is after all a wild animal. To the garden help’s frustration, and my relief, baby bun made it safely away under the Lot’s fence.

Note to self: Future ventures into the garden will require a bun scan.

Last year when my gardening friend Mrs. R sent me an email reading “I’m thinking about going on a garlic mustard pull. Want to go with?,” I wasn’t quite sure what she was talking about. Perhaps a new type of line dance? A type of Italian cooking class? She knows I’m not fond of cooking. I soon learned it was an organized effort to put a dent in the garlic mustard population in our woodlands. This year was my second year attending a pull hosted at the Blanford Nature Center.

Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is an invasive plant brought over from Europe for supposed medicinal benefits and use in cooking. The biennial (two year life cycle) took off and quickly began taking over the woodland floor. The plants often get a head start in Spring and grow very rapidly which shades out native woodland plants. When an invasive species begins mucking up the order of things, the entire ecosystem gets thrown out of whack.

As you can see below, the first year plants are kinda pleasant looking, almost resembling woodland violets in the appearance of the foliage. In fact, if not for the darker and slightly hairier stems on the garlic mustard plant, I’m sure a lot more violets would suffer friendly fire during these pulls.

Kinda cute, aren’t they? However, add water and another growing season and you end up with a lanky, white-topped, saw-toothed invasive that is hell-bent on reproducing and wreaking havoc. Remind you of anything?

These second year plants trade in their pleasantly scalloped edged leaves for saw-like edges. The plant grows a stalk with white blooms which dry and send seed capsules out to take over the forest. This self-seeding is profuse and the resulting seedlings often take over huge areas of the woodland floor.

During the garlic mustard pull, the nature center employee armed us with knowledge and garbage bags to dispose of the plants. The softened ground from the recent rainfall made pulling the plants easier. Otherwise they have a habit of snapping off near the ground if you do not get a firm hold near the plant’s base. The pulled plants are often burned since seed capsules can withstand mild amounts of heat, such as temperatures created by a compost pile.

Many communities are organizing group garlic-mustard pulls so if you are in an area affected by the plant, check with your local nature center or extensions office. Here in Zone 5b we have such beautiful woodland wildflowers, it would be a shame to see them snuffed out by garlic mustard. Here are just a few I was able to enjoy.