You Grow Girlâ„¢

I've never had a personal vendetta against weeds. As a kid I loved dandelions, prairie grasses, wildflowers and anything else that bloomed. I would run around our suburban yard and pluck dandelions from the ground as though they were prized petunias. And to my dad's dismay, I would blow dandelion seeds all over the yard.

However, now things are different. I need to clear out about five yards around the entire house of any plants deemed as a fire hazards. This means I have to pull out the Scotch Broom that's thriving all around the house.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Scotch Broom, here’s a quick definition. It's a shrub-like invasive plant, with bright yellow pea-like flowers. This plant can reach up to 9 feet tall. It grows like crazy in the woods of Northern California, as well as many parts of Canada. It's also the only plant the deer won't eat. And so it's everywhere you look. Scotch Broom is considered a noxious weed because it's a non-native plant that "destroys wildlife habitat and forage, threatens endangered species and native plants, and increases erosion and groundwater loss" according to the California Bureau of Land Management. And when it dries out, the dead weed becomes a huge fire hazard, especially if you're surrounded by redwoods as we happen to be.

Scotch Broom also produces an intense allergic reaction during its flowering season. And guess who's allergic to it? Lucky me. My reaction to this plant is so bad that I have a weird pill concoction I take just to deal with the sneezing. I pop my usual Claritin allergy pill with a Mt. Dew chaser so I can keep my eyes open. Those allergy pills zonk me out in no time flat, so I either have to drink a pitcher of coffee or find another way to stay alert. With gardening tools, shovels and work gloves in tow, a heavily medicated me goes to work on the weeds with a vengeance.

As I sweat away pulling weed by weed from their steadfast roots, I start to feel guilty. Sure these plants make me suffer with allergies, but aside from the Scotch Broom, some of these weeds are funky looking.

One such alien creature happens to be a gigantic, thistle bush with purple blossoms that jet out like antenna. I believe it's called Milk Thistle. I did a little research and discovered that Milk Thistle seeds are often used as an herbal remedy for liver aliments and for treating Hepatitis B. Go figure. I still have to dig them up so they don't suffocate the existing lavender plants that smell oh-so-nice.

I also spotted quite a few wild Agave plants. Since I have a weakness for succulents, and these plants don't appear to be invasive or crowding out others, I'm just going to leave them be. After all, I can't go and pull out every plant I see. I'd never be able to face myself in the mirror again.

As soon as my weed rampage is over, I'll be planting a nice mix of wildflowers and herbs where the Broom and Thistle used to dwell. Maybe I'll go crazy and grow some random veggies and sunflowers too.
Here's the latest list of lucky plants that will go in the new weedless territory:

* Snapdragons

* Chinese Lanterns

* Sweet Peas

* Bachelor Buttons

* Various wildflowers