Garden Pest

Day 196: Violas (aka Johnny-jump-ups) really ought to be classified as an invasive species as far as I'm concerned. Pretty and bright when they're blooming in the spring, as soon as the weather warms up, they turn brown and leave your garden looking like you've forgotten to remove last autumn's debris. They reseed prodigiously, and sprout clandestinely, oftentimes hiding beneath the leaves of other plants until their flowers give them away.

I successfully eradicated clover from my garden, laboured for years to remove the persistent Oriental poppies which tried to crush out all other forms of life. New generations of unwanted marigolds and lobelia were easily eliminated, but not so the resolute violas. They will not rest until they have achieved world domination, these happy-faced invaders, of that I am most firmly confident.