By Mary Jane Smetanka (who's on vacation, but insisted on posting just the same!)

I'm a live-and-let-live gardener, and I don't go crazy when I see weeds in the lawn or garden. I don't mind clover in the lawn or the occasional dandelion. Most of the time they're easy to remove with a digger. But I draw the line at thugs that try to take over the garden.

My current top enemy is creeping bellflower, which has already began its annual romp through the perennial garden. I never even heard of this plant until a couple of years ago and I have no idea where it came from. It's nearly impossible to dig out and even resists the kills-anything-green chemical glyphosate (which is for sale in the stores under names like Roundup or Killzall).Here's a University of Minnesota fact sheet on creeping bellflower:

http://www.extension.umn.edu/projects/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/h508bellflower.html Number two on my list is creeping charlie. Years ago, I pulled yards of it out of the back yard by hand. Now it's making a comeback from the alley and I'm about to wage war again. Creeping charlie is a great groundcover for shady spots where grass won't grow, a fact that one of the horticulturists at U of M extension used to remind people of all the time. It has pretty purple flowers and even smells good when it's stepped on or mowed. A few years ago, I saw it for sale in a big garden center under its Latin name, Glechoma hederacea. People aren't convinced. Many hate creeping charlie and are willing to do almost anything to get rid of it. I'll wage my war against creeping charlie with a stiff rake and my hands, but if you want to use chemicals remember that fall is the best time to kill it. And remember that a chemical is a chemical, no matter how benign it seems. Lots of people fell in love with the borax treatment that was discovered a few years ago for creeping charlie, but if you like your grass remember that borax is a salt that will harm your lawn unless you exactly follow directions and only apply it once each year for two years and not again. http://www.extension.umn.edu/projects/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/h510creepingcharlie.html

Are you letting creeping bellflower run wild through your yard, and do you love creeping charlie? What do you think about so-called weeds?