A Native Returns

Back in 2014 I found a small patch of American germander, Teucrium canadense, growing on the edge of a woodland dominated by invasive species like, Japanese stiltgrass, Mircostegium vimineum, and wineberry, Rubus phoenicolasius.  Since then I have been pulling the stiltgrass in late summer and cutting the wineberry to the ground each spring.  This year we have been rewarded with a much larger swath of germander and a correspondingly smaller mass of invasives.

Mid-July and this area is now dominated by American germander, Teucrium canadense, in bloom

My work is not over.  This area still has a lot of stiltgrass and wineberry, as well as garlic mustard, Alliaia petiolata, which gets pulled in spring, but it is encouraging to see that, given a little help the native flora can come back.

Here's a honey bee about to land on some American germander.  The flowers are unusual
in that the stamen project straight out above the lower lip, which serves as the landing pad.