The huns invade ~ and are beaten back

Yesterday we spent gardening. We planted our containers for the south patio: tomatoes, peppers, and two mint pots. One is the mojito pot (spearmint and peppermint) and one is the tea pot (chocolate, ginger and lemon mints). Actually, I'm thinking that the ginger mint might make a very tasty mojito as well. We also began the process of dividing the sidewalk bed. The iris and stella d'oro daylilies in that bed are hugely overgrown, and I want to make room for more different perennial varieties. We did the small section yesterday, and it took three hours and two Advil. I had forgotten just how much muscle it takes to break apart a big daylily. It could be an Olympic sport.

The first third of the sidewalk bed ~ daylilies freshly divided and ill-mannered varieties pulled out roots and all.

We also ripped out every last bit of a couple of other varieties that I foolishly brought into the garden. There are some plants that should come with warning labels. Biennial campanulas and false dragonhead. Horrible things. The campanulas, at least, are lovely when they bloom. But each plant makes ten kazillion teeny tiny seeds that spread everywhere. First-year growth forms a dense mat that overwhelms all but the sturdiest plants (think asiatic lilies). Then after the second year's bloom it all dies off, leaving empty spaces as it mats up and takes over another neighbor. Truly a horrible border plant. The false dragonhead is almost as bad ~ it sends out runners and invades neighboring plants as well. But it doesn't clump, it just pops up here and there the way dandelions do (though dandelions are easier to remove and, frankly, prettier as well).

Biennial Campanula ~ a small clump, but getting ready to bloom. It would be lovely if it had a whole field to plunder, but it's not such a good plant for a small border.

I wish garden tags came with this kind of information. Along with sun/shade requirements, climate zone, water needs, couldn't they also say something about whether the plant plays well with others? Flower gardening is always a matter of crowd-control, at least to a certain extent. But some varieties really take it to the extreme.