Friday, March 2, 2012

Bet Your Bottom Dollar

And suddenly, it's March. How the heck did that happen? It eases in so quietly down here in Florida, especially this year when everything is blooming weeks early and the temperatures have been far above average all winter. At any rate, all of a sudden March is here, and nothing really has an excuse for laying low anymore. Our front yard is full of the in-your-face color of hippeastrum, trees are showing off spring green leaves (and plenty of pollen), and the butterflies are out in force, with Giant Swallowtails, Spicebush Swallowtails, and Tiger Swallowtails all flashing their wings against the blue sky.

Amidst all of this is when I sometimes really like to just look down for a minute and admire the smallest things, like the flowers of the Dollarweed (Dichondra micrantha) growing in the backyard. Some call Dollarweed a noxious weed and try to eliminate it; others choose to use it as groundcover. We're not fond of turf grass in My Florida Backyard, of course, so we can just enjoy the adorable little flowers of dollarweed without worry.



In spring, we really have to agree with Ferris Bueller of movie fame, who famously stated, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." That's what we try to do in My Florida Backyard!

3 comments:

  1. Never heard someone praise dollar weed before-but I like it! We have a ton of it. Thanks for a different perspective!

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  2. Now I've got to check out the dollarweed that we have to see those tiny flowers. I've not really checked them out up close before. I'm always trying to get rid of the dw in my main garden area and it's a pain. Maybe I just need to let it grow as a ground cover.

    Have a lovely weekend ~ FlowerLady

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  3. Often mistakenly called Dollar Weed, this is Dichondra. Dichondra is a Dollar Weed look-a-like. The round leaves grow parallel to the soil and are seen growing in groups much like Dollar Weed. But Dichondra is smaller and prefers shady moist areas of the lawn. Contrast that with Dollar Weed that tolerates a wide variety of soils, temperatures and water conditions and will populate the entire lawn, Dichondra is usually isolated to a few small preferred spots in the lawn.
    -http://www.iloveturf.com/library/articles/weed-has-round-leaves-similar-dollar-weed-dichondra

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