Ham and Eggs!

Ahh, Ham and Eggs..sounds like breakfast! Not so fast, I was not referring to food but rather another plant in the garden. "Ham and Eggs" is the common name for Lantana, a shrub that is easily grown and blooms almost all summer. Sometimes it is also called by "Bacon and Eggs" or "Butter and Eggs". It gets these common names because of the colors in the blooms. It is almost like the crayon box of the garden! One plant will have blooms of several different colors..orange, red, yellow, white, pink and some lavender thrown in for good measure! Personally, I like Lantana. It brings back a lot of memories. Growing up these blooms served as wedding bouquets for dolls, decorated faerie houses and served as "gifts" for Grandmother! (She was such a patient lady!)

Now, I am told that my beloved "Ham and Eggs" is considered an invasive plant and I should take all efforts to keep it from spreading. Surely this is a misunderstanding! Maybe there is a "look-alike" plant out there mimicking my Lantana! It does grow quite easily and does have bad manners about hanging its limbs over onto the gardenias, but I cannot understand it being labeled "invasive". It has yet to prove to me that it is trying to conquer the world or even my small part of the world. There are perhaps a dozen lantanas on our place. There have always been approximately a dozen lantanas on our place. It has not spread rampantly throughout the woods nor into neighboring properties. I think I will allow my "Ham and Eggs" to still have its small corner of the garden to live in peace.

Now Marigolds on the other hand, might just have to be labeled invasive in my yard! I started out four years ago with one small packet of seeds from the local dollar store and now have them growing everywhere. I have not replanted since and this past fall, I picked over a gallon of seeds to give to any who wanted them. Not only are they reseeding themselves in the spot where they were originally planted but have found any open ground to call their home. Marigolds are in the beans, peppers and tomatoes. They are in the peas, squash and okra. Some are in with the roses and others are mixed among the Blackeyed Susans. I am thinking this is an invasive plant! Not that I mind them anywhere, they are great. Not only pretty, these are wonderful insecticidal plants. They keep the millions of bugs out of the garden!