Here's another shot of the birthday girl.For bonus points: find the two sandals, one from each of her sisters.
For brownie points: tell us what this clover is that's invaded the backyard, spreading runners over the real grass and choking it out, and putting little stickers that get sharp when they dry up.
5 comments:
sounds like burr clover: nasty stuff. http://www.weedalert.com/weed_pages/wa_burclover.htm
Agh. Thanks, Jim, that's the stuff all right. We find that if we keep the lawn closely mowed the stuff seems to dry up, and then we had been ripping up some of it (it comes up fairly easily, in big mats), but I guess that's not the right solution. Our yard could certainly use some good fertilizing -- maybe we'll put some nitrogen-rich fertilizer down and see what happens.
Nitrogen-rich fertilizer will result in millions of dandelions and the nicer sort of clover, which you will have to dig up but which I find comes up easily by purchasing 3 weed-diggers from Lowe's and paying a penny a weed, 2 pennies if most of the root comes with it.
Try mowing the St. Augustine regularly, but not too closely, and mulching the grass-bare areas. St. Augustine will tend to leap on top of weeds that aren't taller than the grass, crushing them ruthlessly, and will happily grow over hardwood mulch.
And before you go for the artificial fertilizers, try spreading around a few bags of Dillo Dirt. Don't look too closely at what it's made of. I'm not really an all-natural type--but in my experience, the Dillo Dirt will leave you with fewer nitrogen-happy weeds, and thus less effort down the road, than the artificial fertilizer. (Also we're right on the creek runoff area, and too much artificial fertilizers or herbicides are deeply frowned on here.)
BTW I'd much rather deal with burr clover than the innocent-seeming but vicious nettles over here. Sophia reached into some weeds for a dandelion a week ago, and you can still see the marks on her hand.
Nice pics!
Our bugbear this year has been vetch, which has nice blooms but is horrible in every other way.
That and the ubiquitous smilax.
You say it's a clover? When I think of nasty spiky weeds, I think with a shudder of goatheads, aka puncture vine due to its propensity to puncture bike tires. Not to mention gardening gloves. It was a major backyard scourge in Denver, but it doesn't seem to grow in Houston where I live now, thank God.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Starr_030612-0069_Tribulus_terrestris.jpg
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