When gardening, it is good to keep an eye out for weeds and invasive plants that could take over your lawn or garden if given the chance. Some common invasive weeds are Creeping Charlie, Garlic Mustard, and Canadian Thistle. These weeds, and others, can be identified on the MN Department of Natural Resources website linked here. If you notice a weed or invasive plant encroaching on your garden, it is best to pull them before they spread throughout your entire garden. Using herbicide is another way to control weeds, however, this method can have negative impacts on water quality and surrounding wildlife if the herbicide travels through runoff into waterbodies.

Invasive plants are bad because they reduce the diversity of plants which limits the amount of resources that animals and insects need to live. It is important to keep invasive species at a minimum to preserve our natural areas. Native plants are important to preserve as they provide resources to pollinators and homes to other wildlife.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more fun facts on conservation, visit: https://www.ninemilecreek.org/trivia/

For more information on weeds, visit: https://www.ninemilecreek.org/redefining-weeds/