All the Dirt on Gardening

Gooseneck Loosestrife, Lysmachia clethroides, is one of those plants that generates an emotional reaction among gardeners, with responses ranging from appreciation to a level of dread akin to seeing Frankenstein on Halloween.  This maligned Lysmachia came from China and Japan and loves the growing conditions in the US so much that it enthusiastically spreads out its rhizomes throughout the beds where it lives.  It is a perennial that disappears during the winter and returns double its size the next spring. The plants are 2 or 3-feet tall and have a characteristic plume of flowers in June or July, depending on where in its zone 3 to 8 range it is growing. In a wild or difficult shady to part-shade location the white flowers light up the darkness and experienced gardeners understand that they may have to control its spread each spring by removing plants that stray from their intended spot.  They prefer moist soil and thrive near ponds or wet meadows and naturalize there. Th...