My Own Experment
As Nancy and I walked around the yard along the fence-line, there was no need for me to point out the thickets of invasive species that we are hoping to eliminate. Coming across a Bittersweet vine climbing the fence, she stopped and gasped. "What is that and why is it still alive?"
"Nanz, I left it there intentionally knowing you were coming by...LOL...I wanted to see your reaction. So tell me how can we try to eradicate things like this without the use of herbicides and/or physically digging them out?"
"Cut it. Keep cutting it. Get rid of it. Cover it, restricting, eliminating the opportunity for photosynthesis to take place."
A few days later, I returned to do just that. Those pieces that I couldn't pull out, I cut with the pruners, then covered them with weed mat, leaving them buried in total darkness.
Oh, one more thing. Before she left, we went in to hang out for a while. I wanted her to meet the dogs (who she loved!!) and have some nibblies I'd made. Admiring the house and the way it was decorated, she stopped rather abruptly facing the dining room. Pointing to the artificial Bittersweet that I have in the kitchen and dining room, she said "eeeeeeewwwww, what s that? You have it in your house? JP, think about the message you're sending."
A several hours later, after Nanz left, I thought about what she'd said. I felt bad.
Then I decided that decorating with artificial Bittersweet was the right message.
It is fake.
It is not rooted, no longer endangering the trees it strangles out in the real world. It is not going to spread. It is contained. Besides, I like it in my house...:)
Sharing with you and those at
Oh, one more thing.
Do you think I'm sending the wrong message?
Do you think Nanz will still be my friend?
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