I love this entirely wild patch at the front of the garden. Everything, apart from the shrubs, is self-sown (or was already here when we bought the house). I do not do anything apart from cutting it down once a year in late autumn. At the moment, the #bluebells are flowering.
Unlike the rest of the garden it is visible from the road. I am certain that some uninspired people think it is an uncared-for weed patch.
‣ Upright. Click to see all.
The #coltsfoot is out! It lives in the sandy areas alongside our road. I was so startled when we first moved here - what were these #dandelions doing out so early??
But they aren’t dandelions. The flowers do look different if you examine them closely, as do the stems that hold them up. Plus, the leaves don’t even make an appearance until the weather has warmed up, and those don’t look anything like dandelion leaves at all.
Does anyone know which #pollinators come to these? Our vernal miner bees aren’t even out yet, as far as I can tell.
Dug up some weeds today at the plot and left them to desiccate on a bucket for a few days (some have extensive roots). I like to display them, in part, as a lesson to other weeds that might be thinking about germinating (just don't). In a few days I'll slide them into the nearby pit of despair for eventual burial. #GrowYourOwn #garden #gardening #allotment #weeds #composting
walked along train lines and oh buoy it's weed central (⊙_◎) #weeds #weedsofmastodon
To rid your garden of common mugwort you have to dig it up and remove the long rhizomes from every clump. It took me two years of hard work to eliminate it. Now other gardeners say, "Oh, you're so lucky that your plot doesn't have that weed." #garden #gardening #weeds #mugwort #allotment
Weed pit in my plot at the community garden. After it's full I'll top it off with soil and start another one. Keeps the garden tidy and over time becomes organic fertilizer. I know this is likely boring to most but I've noticed that many of my fellow gardeners throw their garden refuse onto the paths between plots. #gardening #allotment #weeds #compost #composting #garden
If anyone is considering polypropylene landscaping fabric for their vegetable garden, here's a visual of what happens. After just one season it begins to disintegrate, and shreds will be blown onto neighboring plots where they'll continue to break down into ever smaller pieces of plastic. #garden #gardening #weeds #weeding #plastic #mulch #microplastics #CommunityGarden #VegetableGardening
#RNZ has a good article on planting weeds in gardens then selling them. Casual sales of garden plants by gardeners is an important way that weeds move about the country, and it’s difficult for regional council Biosecurity staff to keep on top of. Just because a plant is pretty doesn’t mean it’s safe to sell. You can learn what plants are on #iNaturalist and check their status on WeedBusters NZ.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/541782/backyard-nurseries-spreading-pest-plants-in-southland
A reminder that great willowherb is still beginning its spread in NZ.
This wetland weed grows dense and taller than me in ideal conditions, like Travis Wetland. It was 1st seen on #iNaturalistNZ by botanist Jason Butt in 2016 in Nth Canterbury. Biosecurity NZ considered eradication but by 2018 it was in Christchurch's wetlands. Environment Canterbury is trying to contain it.
I found 4 plants in the city today and pulled them out: https://inaturalist.nz/observations/258712769
Spot the difference!
Today versus yesterday.
#Weeds #Weeding #grateful
I had some help for about half an hour this afternoon. I've spent about 6 hours on this...
My brother lives here - he has caregivers who support him with independence, one who helped today is keen to help keep it clear.
I hope he sticks around for longer than some caregivers have 
We've got a project on #iNaturalistNZ called "Biocontrol of Weeds in NZ", where keen iNat users no only upload photos of weed biocontrol agents but also tag them with what plants they're feeding on. It's a helpful way to keep track of what they're up to in wild NZ.
I've seen lots of larvae of thistle tortoise beetles this week. The species *Cassida rubiginosa* was introduced into NZ as a biocontrol agent in 2006 and is now knocking back thistle weeds in parts of NZ.
NZ has no native thistles so we could introduce a beetle that eats a lot of species. I saw them on Californian thistles, nodding thistles and Scotch thistles.
Their larvae carry all their shit in a "frass shield" to protect themselves.
As a botanically trained ecologist in NZ, I get a front-row seat to the slow-motion avalanche of new plants spreading into the wild from gardens.
It will be a massive landscape transformation, just getting started.
On Monday I made the 24th observation of the common lionface on #iNaturalist in greater Christchurch. The first was 2019. It would already take a city-wide effort to stop, and is just one species of hundreds.
New study explores adoption of robotic weeding to fight superweeds
https://phys.org/news/2024-10-explores-robotic-weeding-superweeds.html
#Candlesnuff #Fungus (I think), #Xylaria hypoxylon, also known as Stag's Horn Fungus, on a log in the #stumpery.
Upright. Click to see all.
Doing a little light weeding today 
Friends, I recommend that you NOT let guinea grass develop at your place. And definitely don't let it get 12 ft tall or spread across an area.
It's highly aggressive, grows very tall in thick patches, the roots are very difficult to remove, I had to use a literal saw to get through the thick stems, and it's covered in these hairs that are sharp and horrible and get on everything (like fiberglass fibers, if you've ever had the misfortune of dealing with those).
Ernsthaft, wir #Millenials hatten die beste #Sexualaufklärung ....
It's time for a proper #introduction. Kia ora.
I'm an #ecology lecturer at #LincolnUniversityNZ and live in Ōtautahi-Christchurch. I'm interested in #EcologicalMonitoring, #BiologicalInvasions (esp. #weeds), and NZ #NaturalHistory (so much still to discover!). I'm site admin for #iNaturalistNZ #MātakiTaiao, the NZ node of #iNaturalist.
I'm @joncounts because I count a lot of nature (~17,000 species counts each month). See https://wildcounts.org.
