• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Home Garden Companion

Home Garden Companion

Ilona's Garden Journal

  • Plant Library On The Journal
    • All Season Garden Color
    • Sitemap
  • Garden chores
    • Essential Garden Tools For Beginners
    • Garden Tips and Advice
  • Ilona’s Garden Home
    • Old House Blog
    • Garden Librarian
  • Ilona’s Garden Flavor Shop
  • Privacy Policy

Old-Fashioned Nuisance Plants

19.07.09 | Joanne Dibble | 2 Comments

magnolia, althea, yarrow and money-plant….i decided to take
a walk around the old house today observing my world.
i live in a typical old, sprawling, one-story
southern farmhouse, with wide porches to the south and west.
when i moved here, the landscaping told me someone once lived here who loved flowers and shrubbery. a hundred years ago, these plants were not considered”old-fashioned” nor a nuisance. they still thrive around many old homesteads down every country road in the South.

at the n/western corner of the yard is a tall handsome magnolia, still
blooming in the late july heat. after blooming, the pods ripen with bright
lipstick-red seeds, food for the pileated woodpeckers that are still here in
the rural woodlands. i have heard magnolia roots spread out to
more than double the dripline, a good adaption for a moisture-loving
tree, but some gardeners claim they “grab” the water away from other
plants. they scatter their huge dry leaves all over; this self-mulching is
another water preserving habit. above all, this is most bothersome to those who prefer a tidy raked yard….. such a messy tree!

in wintertime, the glossy evergreen leaves are popular christmas
greenery
for the mantle. this afternoon, as i stand on the porch, their strong sweet lemony scent floats in the hot breeze.
one blossom will refresh an entire room.

across my front porch there is an old althea hedge, also called “rose of sharon.”their large trunks and many branches make me think they were all planted at the same time when the house was built, to soften the sharp lines of the porch.

they are the common form, flowering in rose and paler pink, and make a lovely privacy hedge with and generous shade. they are now 10′ tall and although the porch faces the west, i enjoy their shade sitting on the swing, both for their privacy screen and lovely summer blooms.

complaints about them are almost silly:
their unattractive seed pods stay on into the winter, and they produce like
rampant weeds with seedlings everywhere.

althea is a non-native from india, and like another invasive foreigner, english privet, it has made itself comfy in the sunny south. uncontrollable, unless rigorously pulled up yearly. problem solved.

the wild white yarrow (millefolium) lives around the sandy soil along the
driveway and on the rock wall terrace. it is rugged, takes to poor soil and hot sun. the airy ferny leaves are quite attractive, although the common yarrow’s flowers are an unimpressive dull white. its aggressive rhizome-spreading habit seems to be daunting to some gardeners, but i have found that selective mowing a few times over the summer
usually takes care of it.

yarrow was not brought here for its beauty by early settlers. it is a well known medicinal herb -used crushed fresh for wounds and dried into tea for fevers and respiratory sickness.
this “old-timey” herb is welcome here.

money-plant (lunaria) is along the woodsy edge opposite the magnolia, as well as wherever it decides to live. they are biennial, the first year plants with their scalloped heart-shaped leaves are scattered among the mature bloomers with their spikes of purple pink flowers. there are always many blooming plants coming along.
their abundant re-seeding habit, migrating all over the semi-shady parts of the yard, and showing up trespassing in formal beds seem to be the nuisance factor.
on the other hand, the dried branches of their translucent seedpods are
popular with flower arrangers everywhere. the green discs ripen to
papery white rounds, certainly resembling a full moon, or coins….
but another common name is “honesty” and i fail to see that connection
to a plant called money.

i have just walked the west side of my house, and found the landscaping
very pleasant and complementary to the lines of the old place. these trees, shrubs and flowers are hardy, longlasting, attractive, and require little maintenance. their commonality as landscape plants shows that they weren’t always avoided as problem plants. maybe it is time to reconsider them.

my plan is to write about the common old-timey or native plants and shrubs as i walk around each side of the house. although i planted many flowerbeds and gardens here, and keep a butterfly/hummingbird cottage-type garden around the tiny greenhouse, it seems many plants come and go – over time – while the “pariah” plants thrive.

until next time…vty johanna-lea

Share this:

  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related

← Previous Post
Time passes, blogs move on….
Next Post →
Thrift, Daffs and the Three sisters

About Joanne Dibble

DISCLOSURE: I may be an affiliate for products that I recommend. If you purchase those items through my links I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. Thank you, in advance for your support! Privacy Policy

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. mothernaturesgarden says

    July 19, 2009 at 6:42 pm

    When I first started gardening, my hot house plants didn’t fare so well under difficult conditions; so I planted their ancestors the wildflowers. 🙂
    Donna

  2. Rob (ourfrenchgarden) says

    July 19, 2009 at 8:12 pm

    You write so well Johanna.

    I feel I know your place. I always enjoy reading about you ‘deep’ south garden.

    Rob

Primary Sidebar

Oh, hi there!

I was a garden blog pioneer, and began writing on this blog in 2003. Before that I had begun a garden website that has been at its own domain since 2006, Ilona's Garden.

I still love writing, gardening, and art after all these years, although travel and grandchildren have become a big part of my life, now.

Newest Postings Here

  • Hawaiian Flower Arrangements
  • HELLLOOOO, From The Other Side
  • February Gardening, Last of Winter in the Flower Garden
  • Compilation of Past Mini-Posts of 2003
  • Wayback in Ilona Garden Time

Visit for a Spell

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Mission

Finding your way home via the garden path

Books, Tools, Tips

Read reviews from the GardenLibarian

Portrait of a Gardener

gardener musings
Musings

What’s Wrong With Today’s Gardening?

Modern gardening
What Is Wrong?

Garden Journal

fine garden journal
Journal, Planner and Log Book
buy quality plants

You might also like

seeds

National Seed Swap Day in January

Garden advice

What Makes a Low Maintenance Garden?

Create A Child’s Garden, Grow Love For Nature

Growing Indoor Flowers In December

I Found Out About “She Sheds” And Coincidentally, About Friends

Newest Postings Here

  • Hawaiian Flower Arrangements
  • HELLLOOOO, From The Other Side
  • February Gardening, Last of Winter in the Flower Garden
  • Compilation of Past Mini-Posts of 2003
  • Wayback in Ilona Garden Time

Books, Tools, Tips

Read reviews from the GardenLibarian

Standouts

10 Useful Gardening Tips For Spring

Do You Grow Herbs? 10 Reasons To Love Them

10 Cool Season Annual Flowers To Plant

Standouts

August Gardening: Ten Suggestions

What are your ten top choices for perennial plantings?

ilonagarden

With village lights With village lights
Christmas decor #christmasspirit🎄 Christmas decor #christmasspirit🎄
Instagram post 17935013548845771 Instagram post 17935013548845771
Instagram post 17981374354427684 Instagram post 17981374354427684
Instagram post 17865517706595888 Instagram post 17865517706595888
Gift of flowers by my bedside Gift of flowers by my bedside
#mockorange #juneflowers #ohio #mockorange #juneflowers #ohio
Instagram post 18224713828022497 Instagram post 18224713828022497
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Join Me

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2023 · Your Site Name

Hazel Theme by Code + Coconut