{"id":5957,"date":"2015-04-21T07:39:17","date_gmt":"2015-04-21T11:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/?p=5957"},"modified":"2015-04-22T08:42:37","modified_gmt":"2015-04-22T12:42:37","slug":"profile-of-a-weed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/2015\/04\/21\/profile-of-a-weed\/","title":{"rendered":"Profile of a weed"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SpanishNeedles002\"My garden nemesis:\u00a0 Spanish needle, AKA\u00a0Bidens alba<\/em><\/a>, Shepherd’s needles, beggarticks, or butterfly needles.\u00a0 It can grow 5 feet tall, and spreads wide along the ground where it can.\u00a0 This makes it especially hard to get to the root of the things when you are pulling weeds from around and under other plants.<\/p>\n

Why do I wage war against this plant when I have given a flower bed over to the wild vinca<\/a>?\u00a0 When I have nodded my head at the, now huge, milkweed<\/a> in my side yard? Spanish needle is supposedly edible, feeds bees and butterflies and has medicinal values.\u00a0 Surely that would compare to the simple, pretty, and easy to control nature of the vinca, or the fact that the milkweed is the only food of the monarch butterfly caterpillar.\u00a0 Yet I cannot make peace with the Spanish needle.<\/p>\n

Mostly it’s because of the seeds:\u00a0 1\/2 inch little black needles that thread themselves through my clothes and scratch my skin.\u00a0 Each plant can produce 1200 seeds.\u00a0 After that, it’s the virulent way it spreads, sucking nutrients and choking every other plant in the yard.<\/p>\n

But I must admit, it’s defense mechanisms and sneakiness are impressive.\u00a0 I often find it growing as close to the base of another plant as possible – long established plants, so I know it is not simply my hapless sowing of weed seeds as I am planting.\u00a0 It also sacrifices limbs like a lizard will sacrifice it’s tail.\u00a0 Though relatively sturdy and thick, the stems of Spanish needle will break away easily, leaving the tap root and other spreading roots to recover and re-sprout.<\/p>\n

And, I swear that the new leaves of a Spanish needle can often look like those of the plants next to it.\u00a0 I’m getting better at spotting them, so maybe this was a learning curve for me.\u00a0 Maybe it’s all in my head, but it still throws me for a loop some times.<\/p>\n

\"SpanishNeedles001\" \"spanishneedle3\"<\/center><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My garden nemesis:\u00a0 Spanish needle, AKA\u00a0Bidens alba, Shepherd’s needles, beggarticks, or butterfly needles.\u00a0 It can grow 5 feet tall, and spreads wide along the ground where it can.\u00a0 This makes it especially hard to get to the root of the things when you are pulling weeds from around and under other plants. Why do I… Continue reading Profile of a weed<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[212,214],"class_list":["post-5957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-gardening","tag-the-house"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5294,"url":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/2014\/09\/30\/a-small-success\/","url_meta":{"origin":5957,"position":0},"title":"A small success","author":"leems","date":"September 30, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I imagine that landscape overhauls are becoming more popular for people that can afford them, but most people inherit their landscaping from the previous owners of their homes.\u00a0 Older homes have years and years of decaying walkways and hidden bush and tree stumps that never get dug up or ground\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"logfence","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/logfence-600x600.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/logfence-600x600.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/logfence-600x600.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9908,"url":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/2022\/11\/28\/inspired-by-vintage-ornaments\/","url_meta":{"origin":5957,"position":1},"title":"Inspired by vintage ornaments","author":"leems","date":"November 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I have a lovely pony bead and pin ornament that my grandmother made long ago and it inspired me to try my hand at this holiday craft. All that is needed is a Styrofoam ball, straight pins, Pony beads, and patience. 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Known as 'Back from the Dead Red,' Jacquotte Delahaye's existence has been called into doubt\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/1920px-Jacquotte_Delahaye_flag.svg_.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/1920px-Jacquotte_Delahaye_flag.svg_.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/1920px-Jacquotte_Delahaye_flag.svg_.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/1920px-Jacquotte_Delahaye_flag.svg_.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/1920px-Jacquotte_Delahaye_flag.svg_.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/1920px-Jacquotte_Delahaye_flag.svg_.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8245,"url":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/2019\/04\/02\/pascua-florida-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":5957,"position":3},"title":"Pascua Florida Day","author":"leems","date":"April 2, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"I am a little calendar obsessed. 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It is a State of Florida celebration by statute, and as a state day it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/azaleas.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/azaleas.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/azaleas.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/azaleas.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/azaleas.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/azaleas.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3140,"url":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/2012\/12\/19\/so-what-do-you-think\/","url_meta":{"origin":5957,"position":4},"title":"So what do you think?","author":"leems","date":"December 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Whenever I've been sitting at my desk I keep reading the first page or two of a fiction I had started a few years ago.\u00a0 I really really like it - like in a, it's impossible that I wrote this kind of way.\u00a0 I'm so distracted by that stack of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9309,"url":"https:\/\/theleemsmachine.com\/bean\/blog\/2020\/11\/18\/when-tisquantum-ousamequin-and-the-wampanoag-saved-the-pilgrims-a-different-look-at-the-thanksgiving-story\/","url_meta":{"origin":5957,"position":5},"title":"When Tisquantum, Ousamequin and the Wampanoag saved the Pilgrims: a different look at the Thanksgiving story","author":"leems","date":"November 18, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The people we know as the Pilgrims were far from the first Europeans to set foot on or colonize the land later incorporated into the United States. 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