[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
> Re (scots) TOW
> On the way to the Ligonier Highland Games last September we
> stopped at
> a festival in honor of flax--they had demonstrations of the whole
> process and
> the machines used. It is an annual event up there in Pennsylvania
> (USA).
> Interesting about the invasion of the former habitat of the teasel--we
> have a
> governmental Inter-agency committee in the US that is concerned with
> invasive
> weeds--I'll have to check on whether they are aware of these species
> taking
> over your original native plants.
>
I have a feeling that most of our invasive weeds here are New World
species! We can ship you over some good Scots nettles to replace some of
your poison ivy. The giant hogweed is real, real problem on the banks of
the Tweed in many places (since it is injurious, or even poisonous, and
a danger to children). The balsam flowers are easier to live with; they
do take over entire stretches of riverbank, but at least they look
attractive and have a very strong scent.
We only have the past to blame - exotic plants were being laid into
gardens next to the Tweed over 300 years ago and there was a real mania
for bringing back almost any sort of seeds and specimens, then seeing if
they would grow. We accept rhododendrons as a natural part of the West
Highlands landscape now, as well as most other parts of Britain, and we
deliberately plant huge areas with types of pine tree which are not
indigenous (but will be now, for ever!).
I get people staring (disapprovingly) at my house courtyard since we
don't weedkill it and we let stuff grow - vervain, toadflax, herb
robert, poppies, the big Scottish thistles, all kinds of wildflowers. I
can look out of the kitchen window and see small birds on the grasses
and large flowering 'weeds' all the time. My neighbours have perfectly
plain brown earth and tarmac, with neat specimen bushes from the garden
centre, and bird-table to feed the birds.
However, when the occasional giant hogweed, oilseed rape, balsam or
similar plant appears we DO pull it up. I guess everyone does the same
because if they didn't these plants would ne everywhere.
We were very disappointed when the farmers here grew flax for a while,
as it didn't self-set wild like oilseed rape does. Recently they tried
growing borage for a year, and there were beautiful blue fields, but
again it didn't seem to self-set. We have borage growing naturally now
but only after growing some from seed and planting it.
The best invasive weed we have in Kelso is the wild strawberry. All our
flowerbeds are completely carpeted with wild strawberry and it's a far
more reliable fruit than our cultivated strawberries; slugs and birds
don'e seem to eat to wild ones, and they taste FAR better and keep
fruiting for most of the summer. I'm seriously considering replacing the
ordinary strawberries with carefully lifted and planted wild ones. My
neighbours who carefully hoe and weed their gardens don't have any wild
strawberries. Personally I prefer a messy flowerbed full of stawberries
to a neat one with lots of nice plain earth.
David
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