Bumble Bee

Wish I'd taken this picture with my good camera. A bumble bee (I believe a brown-belted, Bombus griseocollis) enjoying some common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). I love that you can see its proboscis.

Dandelions

Soapbox time.

Dandelions are a contentious topic. I have been lectured both for removing them from my intentional plantings and for leaving them in my lawn.

There are multiple species of dandelions and similar-looking flowers. Some of them are native, some are not, so be cautious of pulling yellow many-petaled flowers before you know what they are. (List is not inclusive.)

Common dandelion - invasive
Red-seeded dandelion - invasive
Autumn hawkbit  - invasive

Prairie false dandelion - native
False dandelion - native

For the purposes of this entry, I will be discussing common dandelions and red-seeded dandelions.

Yep, they are invasive species, introduced from Europe. Yep, they are edible.

Some people leave them because being an early spring bloomer makes them "important food for bees." This is actually false. While bees (native and otherwise) will happily visit them, especially in spring when flower pickings are slim, the pollen offered by dandelions is low in nutritional value.

Most research is done on honey bees due to their agricultural value, but these sources touch on other bees as well:

• Are Dandelions Really Important to Bees?
• Pollen Quality
• The Real Scoop on Dandelions and Honeybees

In short: dandelion pollen is low in protein and lacking in certain amino acids which are key to bee development. This doesn't mean it's hurting them, as long as they have a diversity of pollen sources. But it's not necessarily GOOD for them, either. It's better for them to have access to the pollen sources that they evolved to eat - generally plants that are native to your area.

Fighting dandelions takes resources, in the form of time and/or herbicides. Herbicides cost money, harm other plants, and are possibly harmful to insects. Hand culling is the most environmentally friendly way to control the spread of dandelions, but it is also labor-intensive and time-consuming. It's up to you whether that time and energy would be better spent elsewhere.

For some alternative early-blooming native plants to encourage, check out:
Common blue violet
Virginia waterleaf
Wild strawberry
Red columbine
Bloodroot

Common Minneapolis Weeds

When I first moved to Minneapolis, I started noticing certain plants that I didn't recognize from my time in the country and outer-ring suburbs. They are probably present to some extent in those areas, but they are endemic here and in St. Paul.

When first starting out growing a native garden and taking advantage of volunteer plants, it can be hard to tell the helpful native plants from harmful invasives. This is not meant to be an all-inclusive guide, only a starting point for some of the most common invasive weeds in the area.

The definition of "weed" is fluid and hotly contested. In this case, I am using it to describe plants that were introduced from other biomes, and are widespread and aggressive growers that will displace native plants with more value to wildlife. They should be controlled where possible, and care should be taken not to spread them to uninfested areas.

All pictures are mine. Please check out the links by clicking on the plant names for much better and more thorough information.

Nightshade
Related to tomatoes and potatoes. Attractive vine with unique leaves that vary from heart-shaped to fully lobed, and multiple small purple flowers. Can get quite large given the right conditions. Gives off a strong bitter odor when cut. Entire plant, including fruit, is poisonous to humans.

Creeping purple bellflower
Probably my most hated invasive. Very pretty plant, but it is impossible to get rid of and will choke out everything else. It spreads via taproots, so you can pull it constantly and it will just grow back. When I converted a weedy, hard-to-maintain mound behind my garage into a retaining wall, a good 50% of the volume was roots from this plant. They survived years being smothered under weed fabric and gravel and have now returned with a vengeance.

Burdock
Kinda looks like rhubarb. It's not. Don't make any pies out of it.

(Unfortunately I do not have a photo of this one.)

Lambs Quarters
Another one that pops up in bare soil and disturbed dirt.

Creeping charlie
You won't win the battle against this one, but it's not THAT problematic. It grows aggressively wherever it's given the chance, but it's easy to pull and won't choke out other plants as badly as some. Member of the mint family, square stem, smells strongly when cut. Blooms with small lavender flowers in the spring and early summer.

Goutweed
Another one that is seemingly impossible to get rid of. Aggressive ground cover, loves disturbed soil, shade, sun, whatever. Gets clusters of white flowers that are similar to Queen Anne's Lace, and also comes in a variegated green and white version. Asymmetric leaves numbering one or two on each stem.