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Vent: My 'free' wildflower patch turned into a giant thistle farm
Honestly, I got a packet of 'native wildflower mix' from a community seed swap in May. I cleared a sunny spot by the shed and just scattered them, thinking it would look like a cute little meadow. Ngl, by July it was just a solid wall of these spiky purple thistles, like five feet tall and spreading into the lawn. Has anyone else had a wildflower mix go totally wrong? What should I plant instead that won't take over?
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jason1123mo ago
Read a piece from a local extension office saying that a lot of those community seed swaps are basically just people dumping their garden leftovers. A bull thistle or two in a batch of seeds can totally ruin a whole patch.
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julia6225mo ago
That "native wildflower mix" from a seed swap is the key detail for me. Those are often just people's leftover garden seeds, and "native" can mean anything. Did the packet have a plant list, or was it totally mysterious? I'd be checking if those thistles are even from your area or if someone just tossed in some aggressive ornamental bull thistle seeds.
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fisher.mason5mo ago
So you're saying these seed swaps might be spreading invasive plants without anyone knowing? That's a scary thought if people are just passing along whatever seeds they have on hand. How do we even start to fix a problem like that?
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