Usually I know right away what my image of the year is but this year was hard. I struggled with what stood out to me. I can think of many stories. George Emeny when the Hatfield Board of Health was evicting him from his home and how the community.
In the early 1940s, decades before Lyme disease was discovered, there was the USDA Ticks Affecting Man field laboratory in Vineyard Haven. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, established by Abraham Lincoln in 1862, oversees everything from food safety to the Forest Service. Among their many bureaus was once the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, […]
The Addicted Gardener: All knotted up about Japanese knotweed
Donna Lane, Columnist
In the past couple of weeks, my travels have taken me up and down routes I-95, 1, 1A, 109 and many back roads, especially in Norwood, Westwood, Walpole, Medfield and Needham. The red Japanese maples and the flowering trees – especially the native dogwoods that haven’t been affected by anthracnose – are spectacular this year. But not all is well this spring.
I couldn’t help but notice the growing proliferation of Japanese knotweed. The knotweed stands out with its red stems and light green leaves. As with many invasive plants, knotweed thrives in disturbed areas and once established can spread rapidly, creating monoculture stands that threaten native plant communities. I’ve been keeping a watch on the back roads I travel frequently, and there’s no doubt the stands of knotweed are growing.