France in Focus

Haven't needed to cut the lawn for a couple of weeks as it's been so dry it's not been growing.
Had a good look this morning & it was a mess. Not much grass but full of scraggy weeds which a quick whip around with my trusty Stiga soon sorted.
What is it with these things that they'll grow when nothing else will?

One of the winners, Japanese knotweed, soon in every village and city.

The only thing growing well here is sticky bud and judging by how quickly it seems to grow back it must be gaining several centimetres an hour in growth!
Doing its best to smother all of the plants.

Stickey bud (Cleavers?) or Sticky Willy as HardworkingHippy used to call it, has been rampant this year. I've filled huge bags with it when clearing clients' flower beds. The pony and donkey love it, as it's full of goodness, but they couldn't have eaten that much!

Every year it seems something different becomes dominant - depending on weather conditions I guess.

We're very much live and let live on areas that we don't have to walk through. Some "weeds" look lovely when in flower, and attract a lot of insects. Free wild flowers - Nature's little gift.

Bindweed rampant here!

Bayleaf wrote: ↑Tue Jun 27, 2023 2:24 pm Stickey bud (Cleavers?) or Sticky Willy

I always knew it as Goosegrass or Sticky Willie ... whatever ... it's rampant here, as is bindweed, plantain and as for poppies .... they're everywhere. Beautiful in flower but become a scraggy mess afterwards.

I am concerned about the Japanese knotweed. No one I have talked to even recognises it as a problem. I’m pretty sure it will be consigned to the compost benne at many déchèteries and consequently to many unsuspecting gardeners.

I stand to be corrected but the conditions of industrial composting should kill the tops dead.

Roots maybe another matter.

The price I'm paying for a garden full of birds/birdsong is thousands of bramble, ivy, cornus and chinese privet seedlings. All of them are manageable if you get them when they're tiny, but miss them for a couple of months and it's a battle royal!

Blaze wrote: ↑Tue Jun 27, 2023 4:04 pm

Bayleaf wrote: ↑Tue Jun 27, 2023 2:24 pm Stickey bud (Cleavers?) or Sticky Willy

I always knew it as Goosegrass or Sticky Willie ... whatever ... it's rampant here, as is bindweed, plantain and as for poppies .... they're everywhere. Beautiful in flower but become a scraggy mess afterwards.

We always knew it as Sweethearts for obvious reasons. The little leaves become deadly sharp when they go over and harden in the autumn, so mind your hands on those. We have loads of stinky Herb Robert this year and St John's Wort is trying to gain ground - literally.