Lantana Lane?

   The "Critter Neighborhood Watch Clan" was causing yet another uproar on the north side of the house.  While I do not mind snakes being around the place, they need to be a bit less conspicuous!  (Not really)  Let one bird spy a snake and every bird in the county joins in a squawk-fest.  I decided to check out what the birds found and see if I needed to do another snake relocation.  Thankfully, it was just a small black racer that was trying its best to escape from the bird noise.  While there, I noticed that the Lantanas were in full bloom.  These are not ones I have planted in the yard but rather some random shrubs that insist on popping up in the oddest places.  I usually let them grow where they wish and just enjoy the blooms.  These were blooming all along the side of the lane making the driveway quite pretty!

  The sight of the Lantanas brought back many memories of my childhood.  Back then, every yard had the bushes growing next to their front porches.  Porches were usually painted white and the bright blooms stood out beautifully.  Very, very few folks ever called them Lantanas, however.  It was almost a rule that the bush was labeled either "Ham and Eggs" or "Butter and Eggs" depending on the color of the blooms.  If a cluster was more yellow, it was "Butter and Eggs" but let those pink buds show up and the bush had the proper name of "Ham and Eggs".  Folks, thought a lot about food back then, I guess.  I never, ever remember anyone calling the shrubs Lantanas.  To this day, if someone asks, I usually blurt out Ham and Eggs.  (I do get a lot of funny looks!)

  Just recently, I found out that the Ham and Egg name is accurate, to some extent.  There is a cultivar of lantana actually named that!  The Butter and Egg name is now attached to a invasive weed in some parts of the country.  Now that the name thing is settled, it is probably good to note that both of these plants have some good points and some bad.  Lantanas repel bugs but are toxic to humans and most animals.  Don't go eating them.  The Butter and Egg plant is used in some folk medicine but can cause major medical problems if used incorrectly.  Best leave that one alone, too.  Perhaps it is better to just enjoy the beauty of the blooms and not dine upon either of the plants.

Pretty Little Bug Repellent!

  While I love plants and love to garden, I have a bad tendency to let things grow to wild abandon.  Keeping bushes and shrubs trimmed in nice shapes and keeping plants within the boundaries of the garden are all fine and dandy for those who live a controlled life.  I do not.  I am sort of wild and free so why should the plants around me be confined?  Yes, I do trim thing when it is most helpful for the growth of a plant but other than that, I let them do what they want to do.  Sometimes, this gets out of hand.  For instance, the grapefruit trees are pushing 30 some odd feet in height and that makes it a bit difficult to pick the fruit. Perhaps those should have been pruned but it is far too late for that now.  I do love to see plants growing to their utmost even if that means they take over the place.

  
  Down behind the citrus grove near the canebrake, there has been a small lantana growing for a number of years.  Since the bush was not in the way and since I adore the tiny, multicolored blooms, I let it do its own thing.  For years, it stayed pretty much self contained.  I would mow around it and that was just about the most care it received.  This year, however, when I was fertilizing the citrus trees, I threw a large handful of fertilizer into the midst of the lantana bush.  Uh, oh!  It must have needed that extra nourishment as now it has decided to reward me.  The bush has tripled in size and is covered with the orange, pink and yellow blooms!  It sprawls across the ground in huge mounds!

  Am I upset with the new found Goliath sized shrub that threatens to overtake a lemon tree in the next few weeks?  Not in the least.  Since that particular lemon tree has yet to bear any fruit in the ten years we have had it, I have threatened to remove it anyway.  The lantana may as well fill up the space with its happy blooms and dozens of visiting butterflies!  As an added bonus, it is a proven fact that these lovely plants repel mosquitoes! (Since I found out that fact, I am seriously thinking of letting the lantana just take over the entire yard!  Flowers...good.  Mosquitoes...bad!)

Can The Beauty Knock Out the Beast?

  Since I was a toddler visiting my grandparents, I have had a love for "Ham and Eggs".  No, not the food stuff but the flowering shrub.  Ham and eggs, shrub verbena and yellow sage are all names (depending on the area) for lantana.  Grandmother called it ham and eggs so the name stuck.  She always claimed that the colors reminded her of breakfast.  Lantanas come in a wide array of yellows, whites, pinks, reds and oranges....all on the same plant!  The small flowers form clusters that used to adorn my dolls when I was a tot.  The clusters were the perfect size for a doll to hold and since the blooms were all on one stem, it made it quite easy for a little child to affix the bouquet.    My grandparents' yard was the perfect play place for a little one with a wild imagination.  The visits always thrilled me, were (probably) tolerated by them and gave Mom a break after having so many kids.  (There were five of us to handle!)

  Now, the lantana holds a spot of honor in my yard.  Not only does the shrub grow well and can tolerate all what is thrown at it weatherwise, it roots easily.  Instead of having one, there are dozens of the small shrubs dotted about the place.  Some have come up as volunteers in places where they will have to be eventually moved but I cannot stand the thought of killing any of them.

  The pretty shrub also does double duty as its leaves and stems are touted to repel termites.  If you live on the Gulf Coast, you will fully understand our love for anything that can help move termites on their way.  Since Hurricane Katrina struck so many years ago, termite swarms have grown to be a horrifying beast.  Their voracious appetites have leveled homes and have given the rest of us a run for our money.  The Little Bayou House has seen its share of the critters and has been in a constant state of renovation since the storm.  It seems that the termites have even grown tolerant of the sprays so there is just not a lot of hope.  Lantanas!  Do your job!!  

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!

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!