That article takes a somewhat politically correct slant on the subject. FACT: overpopulation of deer is helping invasive thrive over natives, because they'd rather eat natives to extinction. The exotics taste bad to deer. But, oh no, we can't kill off bambi. This actually leads to an amusing scenario where "leftists" and "rightists" end up on the same side of the issue. The former don't want culling of herds because OMG the poor deer will be shot, the latter don't want deer to be too hard to find when they hunt, so they see state herd "management" as a good thing. I've heard some old burghers of Harford county talk about their hunts on the MARC train. They can bag 5-8 deer in a single night! Too easy I say! A handful of us sane ones are left in the middle, who realize deer should be hunted as close as possible to extinction east of the Appalachians. Without a top order predator, they are now out of ecological balance. Otherwise, we have to allow coyotes and wolves back into the area, and worry about our cats and yippy dogs being eaten. (And yes, I'm glad they have killed the ones they do, I have no doubt the reason I don't have near the deer problem people in more genteel areas like the Philly Mainline do is because they are being killed in massive numbers by locals. Keep killing, guys!) FACT: the alteration of the landscape on the east coast has created artificial environments where exotics thrive. Yet where is this writer advocating the complete cessation of absolutely all land development of any kind, to save what's left? Let's close all the railroads, and highways, since they create corridors for invasives to move. (in some cases, even invasives from other parts of the US! I have no doubt the Baccharis halimifolia along I-95 north of Baltimore are not native to that area.) Sorry, politically progressive ecologically minded writers. No more Acela for you. Flying will help preserve native woodlands much better. FACT: 95% of native species have been lost their range to farming, not to invasives. The problem is really that invasive and natives are fighting for tiny pieces of the pie that are left after agriculture. Yet, is the writer advocating the wholesale abandonment of agricultural lands? I don't see that anywhere. One of the reasons people like the landscape of Maryland versus some other states is how much "open land' there is, because "liberal" Maryland was a pioneer in undertaking means to protect agricultural land. As you fly over the Potomac to land at Dulles, the contrast being the MoCo agricultural preserve and NoVA is stark. Yes those fields create forest edges which would not otherwise exist, and are exactly the places where invasives take hold. FACT: she's actually wrong about all of those being introduced by the so-called horticultural trade. Multiflora was brought into control soil erosion - doesn't sound like horticulture to me, sounds like agriculture. Other invasives were brought in by private agricultural interests. So, I actually agree that people should plant butterfly bush with caution, but the whole issue of invasives has a larger ecological context that many of these native plant snobs ignore. Here's a great article by Stephen Jay Gould on the matter: Here is a link that might be useful: http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/articles/483.pdf This post was edited by davidrt28 on Mon, May 5, 14 at 20:07

I pull only those dead leaves that come off with no resistance. At this time of year there are alot of dead leaves that do not come off easily. I leave them for protection, but many people do clip them back. I really cannot say which method is better, because both seem to work. I leave the iris leaves and tree leaves that have fallen around the iris, because I consider it the more 'natural' state. Since I live in a cold area, I do not get much winter rot. Those who live in the South are probably better off clearing around the winter iris as warmer weather encourages rot and mold organisms. Laetitia

Yes, AKA-Peggy, Jim and Dan have been friends of mine for at least 20 years, in SCA, music, gardening, whatever. We are in the same SCA household. Wonderful people; how do you know them? I'll be up there again Saturday April 23 for the first Passover Seder; where do you live and maybe I can stop in by you that afternoon? Anything in particular you want by way of green kittens? I made two trips up there this weekend -- Saturday with sweetie Richard and his truck to bring back flat slabs of slate for another 10X10 area of patio, and Sunday in my own little (overworked) wagon to get chunks for another stretch of wall. I sent plants to that swap with another old friend Phil N, since I had the awful choice of going to the Four Seasons Fall Swap or going to the Folklore Society of Greater Washington Getaway Weekend in Havre de Grace. Didn't see how it'd be worth the three hours of driving to try to do both. So yes, they were taking my name in vain. One wonderful thing to do with oysters is to take a nice thick beefsteak, an inch at least, and cut a pocket in the middle. Lay in some raw oysters, then season and grill the steak as you normally would. The exquisite sea flavor penetrates the meat, and you get a bit with each bite. MMMMM. If you want to get real elaborate you can put a couple leaves of young spinach or even basil flat in the pocket before putting in your oysters, but some folks consider that overkill. I have the day off (there are real advantages to working for the government) and I'm trying to decide if it's too miserable out to start digging the base for the new section of wall I laid out yesterday... Lynn

Apparently it is going positive and northeastern canada is going to get cold again. I think a lot of people will be looking forward to that. They have been above average all winter and fall, and not a little above average either! Apparently a cold Feb. ahead for the Northeast but relief for areas that have been below average (I guess NYC was an exception because it looks like it will be staying cold here!!). There is also a chance for more snow here. The snow from the last storm didnt melt yet, and Im sure that there is a good 2 or 3 inches of snow that is still from the blizzard a month ago!! I cant remember snow ever having the snow last almost all winter (with the exception of the 30ft pile of snow at parking lots). It looks like that could be the case though with the snow this winter. I really miss seeing grass, even if it is a little brown this time of the year. I actually saw some a week ago before the last snow storm dumped 6 more inches of snow! So long story short, a lot of snow and cold here, and looks like it will continue like that for most of the winter and all of January. Most of the cold will likely focus over New England and upstate New York, sparing NYC, the rest of the mid atlantic, and the southeast. The plains might get a break, but the coldest days probably havent been seen yet in many areas of the plains if they are right about this next cold blast. The west will be warming up. Not bad considering that the west coast is suppose to be colder than normal during a La Nina year! Good luck! -Alex