pokeweed

[15_the_circle]

[OT from cottage renovations]

it came as a surprise to me that there are cultivars of pokeweed.  it's one of those opportunistic species whose arrival is greeted by dismay by any gardener. 

though unlovely to behold in any phase of its perennial cycle, even I have to relent somewhat as its blossoms turn into fruit. 

(click through these thumbnails for higher resolution images)

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Oak Street

Phytolacca americana

OK, fine.  look at it for a bit, and for another fraction of a second take its picture.  and then pull the darn thing up before those seeds can take root somewhere. 

Comments

[fleurlady.livejournal.com]

it is pretty! i get it though. :)

poke arbor

[(Anonymous)]

I'll try to get a photo of Pete's "poke tree" back there in the circular herb garden near the willow tree. I mislocated the battery charger in the move to compress the household for floor sanding but it will turn up soon I expect. The tree is now over six feet and the berries are a beautiful deep purple. The birds have eaten most of them. The brilliant magenta stems and florets where the berries were attached are enchanting. We're a bit ahead of you on maturation out here in Iowa.T

[collpepper.livejournal.com]

Wow, that is amazing looking. Like it's backwords...the pink stem and green flowers I mean. So pretty.

re: poke arbor

[15-the-circle.livejournal.com]

>
> ... The birds have eaten most of them
>

meaning, I guess, that you will have lots of future pokeweed to look forward to, each seed delivered in a splat of fertiliser.  O how wonderfully efficient those natural processes can be ...

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sorry, I have gotten way behind on correspondence; will try to send a catch-up note to y'all over the next couple of days.  there's a lot going on, what with the office situation and multiple species changes to household composition.  it will also provide a chance to ask how your own house adventure is coming along (the reference to floor sanding is intriguing). 

[15-the-circle.livejournal.com]

yes, you're right, pokeweed seems to be using the much same palette as rhubarb.  but I still consider it a pull-on-sight sort of a pest.  there are a couple of spectacular ones on Town property in the Grove, I think the most lavish nefarious one is in the East Woods along Mulch Alley. 

[peach-salsa.livejournal.com]

I like these photos almsot as much as those of the lunaria. Almost. :-)

[sparroweye.livejournal.com]

Mockingbirds, and brown thrashers love these. I leave them to grow wild all over my backyard. Also, beauty berry, with lovely lavender berries
about now. I have a love;y holly tree that the birds lovingly pooped out
for me. It is quite a big tree now. I give, they take, they give.

[15-the-circle.livejournal.com]

I admire your ability to be more accepting than I of the species that just happen along.  in looking at what comes up I still do this mental check for weed and there is much for which I do not stay my hand. 

I'm trying to get better in this regard, I really am. 

also, if you don't mind my asking, what was it that led you to this page? 

How I came upon you.

[sparroweye.livejournal.com]

I believe I went from Katzenfrau (who is on my friends list) and noticed
a journal on her profile called Cottage Garden. Went there, the photographs were so beautiful. Went from there to her Karenleigh and it was there you had a comment and photographs of your wild weeds ie. poke berries. So, it was quite a journey. But that is what I love about journals.

re: How I came upon you.

[15-the-circle.livejournal.com]

thank you for responding.  one does wonder about these things. 

though online query tools (http://www.petekrawczyk.com/lj_connect/?userfrom=sparroweye&userto=15_the_circle) can provide a plausible chain of links, I rather preferred your answer (and hadn't thought of the connect query until reading your description).