Dec 16 2009
Pesky
Rain on pampas grass
Pampas grass can cut you like you wouldn’t believe – until it does. And it will, if you aren’t careful. I learned that one the hard way. Pampas grass fools you into thinking it’s nice and pretty, with its plumy tops and fountainy looking grass, and then – wham! If you’ve ever dated, you’ll have had a similar experience at some point. In both cases, you learn your lesson pretty fast.
Apparently pampas grass is nothing more or less than a weed, despite its pretty appearance. My sister uproots little ones ruthlessly if they dare to be in her path. Maybe they try to cut her in revenge.
Another supposedly pestilential plant here is Scotch broom. It has dark leaves and grows in witchy hedges, starred with bright yellow blooms. Like pampas, it spreads like crazy and crowds out native plants and animals. It has clearly fallen into disrepute since it was the emblem of Charles VI of France back in the 14th century.
I seem to have a soft spot for weeds. I love dandelions, both the cheerful yellow and the fluffy “clocks”, and the greens are delicious. I have a paperweight with a real dandelion clock magically captured in its depths, and I treasure a little painting of dandelions which used to belong to my mother:
I never want to admit to my sister that I think these plants are pretty. As an avid gardener, she deplores weeds and deer alike, and their cuteness holds no sway with her. So when we walk the dog together, and the sun shines on the bright broom and the pampas sways in the wind, I keep my thoughts to myself. Maybe peskiness is in the eye of the beholder.