When Gardening Experiments Go Wild: Invasive Plants and Surprise Ecosystems

Invasive Groundcover

Three Yellow Archangel (Lamiastrum galeobdolon) plants became three dozen in months, engulfing ferns and azaleas. Years later, still fighting it under hydrangeas.

Container Water Garden Surprise

A half-barrel water garden with pickerel plant, water lily, and a rescued rush soon hosted tadpoles, snails, then fish (likely from plant roots). Winter forced it indoors, where it became a mini-ecosystem: fish multiplied, a frog appeared, requiring cricket feeding. The gardener jokes that spring better come early!