Caveat Emptor

Day 261: Caveat emptor: "let the buyer beware." When I first moved here over thirty years ago, I set about trying to find something which would grow in the space which later became known as the Barren Wasteland for good reason. A ten-foot wide area between the back wall of my house and the side of the garage resisted all my attempts to turn it into a vegetable garden or a flower bed, rejecting every effort I made to enrich the soil with compost, fertilizer or other amendments. Eventually, I hit upon the idea of getting a "regional" wildflower mix to broadcast in the hopes that at least one species would find the conditions acceptable and, innocent that I was, I bought a large container which claimed to be "for the northwest." Today, with a bit more experience behind me, I would have read the label more carefully. What I planted...and what had the greatest success at establishing...were what I would now call "weeds." Over the years, I've managed to get rid of most of the undesirables, but two which persist are yarrow and California poppies. The Barren Wasteland is now a riot of colour and variety, but very little of that "northwest mix" still exists, having been pulled up by the roots and disposed of without further ceremony or regret.