Planting invasive plants in the garden? Maybe it’s time that
nurseries label invasive plants. After all, many home gardeners
aren’t likely to research the plants they like and a number of
ornamental plants can be dangerous to surrounding areas. In
fact, we’ve gotten amazingly comfortable importing plants from
all over the country so gardens can sparkle with a vast
assortment of plant choices, but have given very little thought
to what could do too well in an ideal environment without
natural predators and other checks. Often I find myself waxing
poetic about the beauty of a plant or flower without thinking my
readers may be in a completely different eco-system and those
same plants can be invasive pests in someone else’s garden.
What’s more, I often see nurseries selling plants that are
listed as official pests just because customers like them and
they sell well. I wonder. Would people buy differently if plants
were actually labeled as invasive pests at the nursery? Or would
they buy and plant them anyway? Hm