Slow painting

Thursday 29 January 2009

My weeds - creeping buttercup

An extremely vigorous specimen of creeping buttercup - one of my biggest 'weed headaches'. The Garden Organic website describes it as 'an efficient colonist of areas disturbed by man' and 'it can tolerate both waterlogging and a moderate drought'. Obviously built for survival, it's surviving just fine on our plot. If this were a vegetable I'd grown I'd be delighted with it. As it is, I'm waging war.

I went to the plot on Sunday not intending to dig. My back was giving me trouble - see why here. As I went out of the door my daughter said, 'No digging. Do you hear?'. And of course I meekly agreed. She's a pretty forceful young lady. But when I got to the plot and saw the gains that the buttercup had made around one of my one year old blackcurrant bushes I couldn't help myself. It was painful work. But so satisfying to fork up these long strands of roots.

When I got home I was rumbled immediately. 'You've been digging, haven't you?' I don't know how she knew. I've got off with a warning this time, but I still think it was worth it.

Afterthought: look how GREEN the grass is in this photo - and the frill of creeping buttercup round the base of the compost bin. It's January, but from this you might say April.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

AHH! Funny how those stubborn weeds are great motivators!! Be careful, you will be sad if you don't heal properly and then are laid up come springtime!

Linda said...

Yes, I must do my physio exercises...

Corner Gardener Sue said...

So, did you get hurt skiing? I hope you heal quickly and well.

Amanda said...

My son asked today "When can we go skiing?". I have no intention of ever going skiing as I'm absolutely certain that I will come to harm if I try! My daughter's going on her first ever ski trip next week, so I'll be interested to see how she gets on.

Weeds shouldn't be growing that well at this time of year. Evil things...

Linda said...

Sue, the last time I stepped on skis I managed to break my coccyx after just 4 minutes. I came back from that holiday with a souvenir of a Norwegian orthopaedic rubber ring, and being taken off the plane via the hydraulic platform used for wheelchair users and stretcher cases. I don't intend getting another injury!

Amanda, if your children are like mine they will take to it immediately. You can enjoy watching their progress from a safe distance. Oh yes, just thought of another obstacle to me skiing - I'm incapable of getting off a chair lift at the top of the mountain without a support crew (tho I'm otherwise slim and fit), and have been known to be carried back down the hill again while my family pretends they don't know me!