MENU

Sections

  • Home
  • About
    • The Chestertown Spy
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising & Underwriting
      • Advertising Terms & Conditions
    • Editors & Writers
    • Dedication & Acknowledgements
    • Code of Ethics
    • Chestertown Spy Terms of Service
    • Technical FAQ
    • Privacy
  • The Arts and Design
  • Local Life and Culture
  • Public Affairs
    • Ecosystem
    • Education
    • Health
  • Community Opinion
  • Donate to the Chestertown Spy
  • Free Subscription
  • Talbot Spy
  • Cambridge Spy

More

  • Support the Spy
  • About Spy Community Media
  • Advertising with the Spy
  • Subscribe
June 17, 2025

Chestertown Spy

Nonpartisan and Education-based News for Chestertown

  • Home
  • About
    • The Chestertown Spy
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising & Underwriting
      • Advertising Terms & Conditions
    • Editors & Writers
    • Dedication & Acknowledgements
    • Code of Ethics
    • Chestertown Spy Terms of Service
    • Technical FAQ
    • Privacy
  • The Arts and Design
  • Local Life and Culture
  • Public Affairs
    • Ecosystem
    • Education
    • Health
  • Community Opinion
  • Donate to the Chestertown Spy
  • Free Subscription
  • Talbot Spy
  • Cambridge Spy
3 Top Story Point of View Angela

Spring Battleground by Angela Rieck

April 14, 2022 by Angela Rieck

Share

It is that time again—early Spring, when we gardeners begin the battle with and against Mother Nature. Already the sun’s rays are warming up the soil and steady rains have enabled hibernating perennials and bulbs to send tiny green shoots peeking out above the soil.

We are ready. Armed with hoes, rakes, edgers, shovels, hand tools, clippers, and mulch. We begin removing the vestiges of winter, amending the soil, edging the beds, removing early weeds.

Our adversaries are also getting ready—and they are many.

On our side, we have our garden tools, healthy plants sheltered by a nursery, compost, and fertilizers. We also have our stubbornness and resolve. But Mother Nature is a fickle friend who can take as well as she gives.

Against us, are the time-tested enemies: invasive plants, weeds, critters, and bugs.

In my garden, my most insidious weeds are violets. Yes, the stuff of poetry, sonnets, springtime, which shares its name with a beautiful color in the rainbow. In the last two weeks, I have already pulled up thousands of violet seedlings, some so thick they form a mat. They hide within my Echinacea and Rudbeckia (black-eyed Susan); making it almost impossible to pick them out without causing damage. No weeds are more persistent in my garden than violets, but others (such as wild grasses) are equally nasty.

My next nemeses are the invasive plants that previous gardeners planted (my house is 250 years old and has had a lot of gardeners). There are a number of them, but the worst are Goose-necked Loosestrife and English Ivy. Goose-necked Loosestrife is a lovely plant that grows about 18-inches tall with medium green leaves and a long-lasting white flowerhead that resembles a goose’s head and neck. But it is also rude. Its fleshy stems go underneath plants and hard surfaces, and attach to sprinkler hoses which allow them to sprout everywhere. They relentlessly invade every flower bed and even the lawn.

The most ubiquitous invasive species has got to be English ivy. Once it is there, it is there to stay. Let’s face it, if people visit bearing English ivy, they are not your friends.

Our next adversary is the inevitable summer drought. Our clay soil hardens into a brick forbidding any rain or nutrition from penetrating, drying up the leaves and flowers.

Don’t forget the bugs. Bugs are everywhere, some are nice, like lightning bugs, but the bad ones are really, really bad. Japanese Beetles destroy the leaves and flowers of Knock Out roses. And gross, disgusting slugs slime their way around hosta leaving tracks and trails.

This year, the critters have already drawn the first blood. Bunnies are adorable, with cute little white tails that seem to bounce as they run away. My bunnies feast on my sweet pansies. They prefer the flowers, but are willing to eat the leaves of any desired plant (except the invasive ones, of course). Later, deer and groundhogs will finish off the remaining plants.

With so many adversaries, it is only our resolve and stubbornness that can see us through this battle. But we all know who wins in the end.

To quote Michael Pollan, “Nature abhors a garden.”

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: 3 Top Story, Angela

Looking at the Masters: Resurrection  From and Fuller: A First Look at Maryland’s Governor’s Race

Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article

We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.

Copyright © 2025

Affiliated News

  • The Cambridge Spy
  • The Talbot Spy

Sections

  • Arts
  • Culture
  • Ecosystem
  • Education
  • Health
  • Local Life and Culture
  • Spy Senior Nation

Spy Community Media

  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
  • Advertising & Underwriting

Copyright © 2025 · Spy Community Media Child Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in