Before I created the Roger Park Monarch Butterfly Project and decided I wanted to plant a butterfly garden, I originally had designs on the space at the end of Birchwood where its dead ends into Lake Michigan. It seems like a great spot that was full of volunteer plants and could be redone to include some wonderful foragable plants. After changing direction on what I wanted to plant and why I chose the corner of Birchwood and Eastlake Terrace instead.
Since then, I haven’t paid much attention to the space at the end of the street. So, I was quite surprised to wander down there this weekend and see several plants in full bloom. And my heart sank when I realized that they were almost all aggressive invasive plants. Using the PlantNet app, I found common burdock, tree of heaven, and spear thistle. And some clueless soul had planted peppermint! I walked around the corner to Howard Beach Park and there I found black poplar, white sweet-clover, stiff tumbleweed.
Knowing this was a bad situation, I posted in a few of our neighborhood Facebook groups to see if anyone can help me rip it all out. I also put out a call for native seeds or plants that could fill the space and prevent the invasives from coming back. A bit thanks to Jack William for bringing over a variety of seeds the next day.
The weather has been quite hot this week, so I was only able to put in about 20 minutes of work thus far ripping out the tree of heaven and attacking the vine. At times I thought I was going to bring down the fence with the vines. I need to invest in a good pair of garden shears. I tried to tackle the spear thistle but even lightly grasping it had its thorns right through my garden gloves. Would love recommendations on good gloves or other ways to tackle it.
Birchwood Butterfly Corner 