By Kim Willis These articles are copyrighted and may not be
copied or used without the permission of the author.
How
ridiculous this is. Dames Rocket, Hesperis matronalis, has been on this
continent almost as long as European people and as long as dandelions and
apples and honeybees. It was a cottage
garden flower that also served as an early source of spring greens and it was
as carefully planted here by early European settlers as roses and
cabbages. This is one immigrant that
fully deserves permanent legal status.
Dame’s
Rocket looks rather like phlox, both the native woodland phlox and the phlox of
cultivated gardens. It is in the mustard
family however and has 4 flower petals instead of five like phlox. Its leaves are arranged alternately on the
stem rather than opposite each other as in phlox. Dame’s Rocket is considered to be either a
short lived perennial or biannual plant.
It spreads by seed, which is produced in long narrow pea pod like
structures. Dames Rocket is found in
most of the Eastern half of the country, southeast Canada and a few places
further west.
Yes
Dames Rocket escaped early gardens and popped up in unexpected places. You’ll see the tall clusters of beautiful
fragrant flowers in shades of lavender, pink and white blooming along roadsides
and ditch banks in late spring. Many a
gardener has stopped and collected some for their own garden. They bring beauty to otherwise dull and man
damaged areas.
Dames
Rocket is loved by bees and butterflies.
The larvae of many native butterflies and moths have adapted to eating
it and it’s considered a good host plant for several species. In Europe it’s still a garden plant, and
double flowered varieties and other strains exist. So why is there such an
animosity against it by some in the “native only” crowd?
Dames
Rocket isn’t poisonous. It doesn’t
spread disease or damage agricultural crops. Its only crime is to occupy space
that some misguided people feel should be occupied by other plants, native
plants. And here’s the funny thing about that.
The places you see Dames Rocket growing are not natural, undisturbed
environments. They are generally found
in places already changed drastically by man.
Native plants would struggle to grow in most of these environments and
if Dames Rocket wasn’t there some other more unpleasant invader might be. And Dames Rocket may actually be better for
some species of wildlife than many native plants that might grow in these
disturbed areas.
If
you’ve ever driven along back country roads you have probably seen apple trees
that have grown up along them, maybe from bait pile apples set out for deer or
from apples eaten by animals and the seeds deposited in their poop. These apple trees also pop up sometimes along
nature trails, busy freeways and parking lot and retention pond edges. They occupy space that could be occupied by
native trees. But have you ever seen a
campaign to eradicate these alien invasive plants?
I love
Dames Rocket and do what I can to keep it blooming here on my property. I don’t judge plants by their country of
origin, just by their beauty and usefulness.
I think the perfume industry should look into turning the fragrance of
Dames Rocket into a new scent, “eau de alien” maybe. And for those who like spring greens try
growing Dames Rocket in the vegetable garden.
When
someone urges you to take action against Dames Rocket, simply because it’s
occupying space they feel belongs to some other plant, tell them to stop
interfering with nature. We rarely need
to intervene, although there may be instances when removing truly harmful
plants is justified. Nature knows how to heal damaged environments and provide for
creatures in the web of life. Tell them
to go pull dandelions and cut down wild apple trees instead. Make your property a sanctuary city for Dames
Rocket.
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