Where Have You Been All of my Life? Right in my Own Backyard!

  Every now and again, you learn something new that would have been most helpful for the past umpteen dozen years or so.  Why had you not gained this tidbit of knowledge far before today is a mystery.  Every trace of useful information should be shouted from the rooftops so anyone interested can learn.  Oh, wait!  We have the internet and its overload of garbage that fills our minds with absurd "truthful" pieces of information! I have confidence in just about a teaspoon of the stuff filling the ocean of internet but, occasionally, something checks out to be worthwhile. While I am still doing more research on the possibilities attached to a bit of information, I have high hopes that it will prove to be more than wishful thinking.  

  For the past week or so, my hikes have been filled with different wildflowers.  Some of these are not truly "wild" as they are more "escapees" from gardens of the past.  A lot of the escapees are from gardens of my grandparents.  Granddaddy would trim or pull out old plants and discard them in piles back in the woods.  Many took root or seeds would fall to the ground.  Other plants were "planted" by birds dropping seeds. One of the small shrubs that is blooming is the Lantana. Lantanas are in the Verbena family of flowers and have nice clusters of multi-colored flowers.  In the past few years, the plant has been placed on the "Invasive Species" list and folks have been urged to eradicate the poor thing whenever one is found.  I have always like the Lantanas as they remind me of days past but now I find that these plants should be on everyone's "like list".  Stop pulling out the Lantanas!!!

  It seems that besides the showy flowers, Lantanas actually can perform a most useful task that folks down here should appreciate.  The leaves and stems of the plant can be used to repel termites!  A professor at an Alabama college found through studies that the ground leaves and stems create a barrier against the termites.  It was his thought that perhaps the plant parts could be added to mulch for gardens to help eliminate the termite infestations.  It makes sense when you think that mulch is merely ground up plant material and is a favorite breakfast for termites.  Adding the Lantana might just repel the termites enough to make the garden area an inhospitable environment for the bugs without adding harmful chemicals.  Why not go the natural route when eliminating critters?    Plus, seeing as the Coast has been inundated with the nasty creatures recently and since we have a ready resource of Lantanas, it seems that it would be at least worth a try!  I am game!

  Now that I have a new-found love for the scraggly shrub, I will be rooting more and more of these plants.  It will be easy to administer the leaves and stems to the ground, as once they finish blooming, I can cut them with the lawnmower!  It is almost impossible to kill the bush and cutting them to the ground only makes them grow more vigorously.  We have a never-ending supply of termite repellent!  Ok...the plan!  Root as many cuttings of Lantana as possible, plant saplings everywhere, cut and mulch the plants frequently, rid the place of subterranean termites! Yep!  Sounds like a good idea to me!  Oh, did I mention...they are pretty, too!