They told me it spreads like wildfire but I had to see it this year to know it still does so. Plants, dude, they freak me out. It's so nice when you got the nasty ones' resilience combined with the essence of those that you desire.
Fragrant and beautiful, lily of the valleys multiplied in our gardens when simply left unchecked for a while. It's their time of the year. And I welcome them finding and claiming a larger portion of the surface of both yards we have them in.
The photo below I took a couple of days ago in the village yard.
It's been a heck of a fight out there, me and my hoe versus thorns and tall grass, creeping grass and more thorny things, all kinds of suffocators, root spreaders, shade casters, acid bearers, etc.
That war of attrition cannot be won unless allies are found and/or conversions are made. Can desired plants become the dominant species, though? Not an easy thing to do, especially with all the specifics and adaptations of the wildlings versus all the vulnerabilities of the stuff that tastes better to more than humans.
That is why an ally like this one is much appreciated and kept in mind when weeding out, digging holes, planning future designs of the spaces it occupies and neighboring areas.
The trick is, it only shows above ground for this long. Not all of the seasons.
I wonder, shall I find other unsuspected allies? Or shall I strive to create some?
Peace!
M.