Planning a garden is always so much fun, but sometimes our enthusiasm can get the best of us. As we browse seed catalogs, the vibrant colors of blooms or the descriptions of a plant entice us to hit that ADD TO CART button. I am guilty of this, especially when outside my window, the world looks dreary— cold and covered in snow. And in my haste, I forget to look to read about the plants behavior. What ensues is a comedy of “What Was I Thinking” situations followed by frustration— all self-inflicted. So today I am sharing with you four plants that I regret planting in my garden. And if you by any chance have these in your garden, may the odds be always in your favor.
GREEK OREGANO
In 2007 when I bought my house in the sandhills of North Carolina, I was excited and giddy to finally have a house with enough yard to have a garden. It was my first time stationed in the U.S. and not in some overseas military base. One thing that quickly became annoying? Grass. More specifically— cutting grass. So I decided to find something that I could use as ground cover that I would not have to mow constantly. Enter Greek oregano.
As I did my research (looking back it was haphazard), I decided on growing this herb as ground cover. In theory, it was the perfect solution. In reality… well, not so much. The bottom line is that I was a rookie gardener and did not know better. But here is why I regret planting it:
Became a maintenance nightmare. Greek oregano stays close to ground, but it requires pinching and clipping early in the growing season so it stays low to the ground. Otherwise, it gets leggy and messy.
I found it to be pretty invasive, even after I mowed over it. It was insane. It took over everything around it… even some mint I had in the corner of the garden
BEE BALM
Second place goes to Bee Balm. Here is the first thing I am going to say— think mint. When I envisioned planting the bee balm in this garden bed above, I honestly did not have any idea it would take over like it did. In my mind, all I saw was the beautiful showy lilac-colored flowers (bottom right). And there lies my problem. This perennial is part of the mint family. And if you know mint, you know where I am going with this. It can be pretty invasive because is spread quickly thanks to underground rhizomes.
And it is a pain to take out. In the fall we took a shovel to it because we couldn’t pull it out, and it was taking over the bed. Also, it kept getting powdery mildew because it was so thick and encroaching on the other plants. I really had it with it. Although I will miss all the pollinators it attracted.
GERMAN CHAMOMILE
I always wanted to grow German chamomile because it is not only pretty, bright and happy, but I love chamomile tea. I planted it two years ago for the first time, and it did ok. Fall came, they died down and that was that. Or so I thought.
When spring arrived last year, I noticed a bunch of little leaves growing. I thought they were weeds. Now, let me clarify— I knew that chamomile self-seeds, but this is zone 4 and an annual. I was not expecting it to 1) survive the harsh winter, and 2) be so… EXTRA. It was EVERYWHERE. Once I got over how much there was of it, I was annoyed by how floppy it got. The only good thing about it is that I was able to remove it from the garden beds and transplant it to containers without any problems. But in the garden… I’ll have to think carefully if I want to go through that again.
BORAGE
Ah, borage (sigh). I love everything about it— the look, how pollinator friendly it is and the fact that the flowers are edible. I was first introduced to borage by a garden video on Instagram, and it was love at first sight. It is just so lush. I planted it from seeds, and it took off like a weed. I was excited because it was growing so good! Except that it did not stop growing in height and width. It got bushy and it required a lot of pruning to keep it under control. Eventually it took over the garden bed. This one also self-seeds, so if you are not sure about it, I recommend that you rethink it before you go ahead and plant it.
In reality, all these mishaps could have been avoided with a bit more planning and less “Uh, pretty” mentality. So the moral of the story is to check the growing behavior of plants before clicking on the ADD TO CART button. You have been warned. :)
And because I love sharing! Here are other amazing link-ups I enjoy!
Mondays— Inspire Me Monday, Hearth & Soul, In a Vase on Monday, Mosaic Monday, All About Home Link Party
Tuesdays— Nature Notes, Tuesday Turn About
Wednesdays— Wonderful Wednesday, Soaring with Him, Wonderful Wednesday Blog-Hop
Thursdays— Imparting Grace, Heart Encouragement, Be Thee Inspired, Full Plate Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Runfessions
Friday— Floral Friday, Friendship Friday Grace & Truth, Farmhouse Friday, Floral Friday Fotos, Community - Five Minute Friday, Fabulous Friday Link Party
Saturday & Sunday— Pink Saturday, Saturdays Sparks Link Party, Garden Affair, Six on Saturday
Monthly— Garden Bloggers Bloom Day