Under Attack

I don’t know about the rest of you but for the past few weeks we’ve been under attack. Our enemy knows no bounds, is no respecter of persons, and comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. Just when we think we’ve beaten him he pops back up in full force. The enemy I’m referring to is the dreaded common weed.

Every year we try to figure out a way to get the yard, flowerbeds and garden prepared in such a way as to not have to work quite so hard the coming summer. But every year our enemy returns and he brings his friends.


If we cover, treat or cement one spot he finds a crack or crevice to pry his way through. If he can’t find that he’ll be so bold as to pop up straight through the weed block – that is not suppose to be possible, but he is a cunning, determined, resourceful enemy.

There are times I find myself wanting to run, screaming from the battlefield, and others that I simply want to barricade myself in our home and pretend he doesn’t exist.

Yesterday however it was time for a counterattack. The conditions were just right - it had rained the last couple of days and the ground was soft, unlike the normal cement like texture it possesses when dry – so we gathered our weapons - gloves, kneeling pad and garbage can and headed for the front lines.

My husband and I decided it would be more efficient to attack in different places, so we wished each other luck and headed in opposite directions. The jungle was dense; it was hard to tell who was friend and who was foe. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to find my way out. Things started to look grim; I didn’t think we’d ever be able to win this battle.

Just when I was ready to throw my hands up in surrender our children decided to send out a search party and came to our aid. They joined us on the front lines and helped us turn the tide. When the dust cleared and the weeds were swept away, imagine our delight to discover that our front flowerbed, in addition to previously being the home of an innumerable host of weeds, also contained a rosebush, bleeding hearts, peonies, salvia, delphiniums and mums.

In an attempt to help thwart the re-infestation of weeds we are planning to beef up our defenses next week and bring in alyssum, that sweet innocent looking flower that spreads quickly to take over any unoccupied ground, and snapdragons, the name alone should strike fear into the hearts of the attackers. We’ll hedge up our weak spots with weed block and mulch and as a final result we’ll booby trap the ground with Preen.

We know this is only one small victory and there are many battlefields yet to conquer; still, small though our victory may be, it is nonetheless sweet, as we look out over our front flowerbed and enjoy the beauty.

How do you defend against the weeds?