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Question: What is the biggest mistake you have made in your garden, and what advice would you give gardeners to avoid doing the same?

Answer: There have been so many mistakes, but the one that has had the longest-lasting consequences is adding plants before researching their behavior.

In the years to follow, these plants have become invasive. They are not totally unworthy plants. They are improperly used plants that have created a constant battle to maintain their growth.

The first of these is Ajuga reptans, or bugleweed. This low-growing groundcover with beautiful foliage and an early blooming flower spreads by above-ground stolons, and can fill an area quickly. It is a worthy plant for those who need a large area filled in quickly with little maintenance in the future. If I had read that last statement before planting it in my perennial bed, there would not have been a problem. A good plant has become a problem because it was used in a setting that was inappropriate.

Another mistake plant can be a wonderful and useful plant - but also, when left to its own free will, a weed. The definition of a weed is a plant out of place, and that is what lemon balm has become in my garden. I planted lemon balm to use fresh sprigs in drinks and as garnishes on salads and main dishes. I have used the leaves to make teas and have also included it as an ingredient in potpourris. But, after several years, it has migrated to almost every section of my garden.

In researching information on this herb, I found the statement. "When choosing a site, keep in mind that lemon balm self-sows freely, spreads rapidly and can quickly become a weed." Who knew?! If you want to continue to use this herb, it is important to know it must be pruned as soon as the flowers and seed heads begin to form.

Occasionally, nurseries offer plants that are easy to propagate, inexpensive and are a pretty addition to a flower bed. But these plants are easy to propagate because they are extremely aggressive in the garden. One such plant I have experience with is Campanula poscharskyana, also known as bellflower. Gardeners may be familiar with other well-behaved bellflower species and not know that all do not adhere to the same growing pattern. This more aggressive variety is beautiful, but every year hours are wasted on pulling this plant only to have to repeat the process in a few weeks.

I could go on to include hayscented ferns, goutweed, lamiums, mints and lunaria, but I think you get the message. Know your plants. They can be welcome guests in some gardens but nuisances in others.

Mona Bawgus is a certified master gardener and consumer horticulturist with Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Atlantic County. Write to her c/o Rutgers Cooperative Extension, 6260 Old Harding Highway, Mays Landing, NJ 08330. E-mail:

bawgus_mona@aclink.org

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