07/26/2026
From mugwort to meadow! Scroll for the before picture . When I first visited this yard the large garden bed had been totally colonized by Mugwort, an invasive w**d in the mint family which spreads by rhizomes and is notoriously difficult to remove. Mugwort has a very extensive root system, like a spiderweb, and if you try to pull it by hand, the roots only grow stronger. Even after hours and hours of digging up the roots, any tiny piece of root material that remains will quickly reestablish itself. With an infestation this severe, persistence is key. Last summer, the Rosewater crew did four rounds of intensive invasive species removal spread out over four months. We didn’t even think about planting until after we were confident that the mugwort was under control. Even so, in nature there’s no such thing as 100% success — so our strategy was to plant hardy spreading perennials that could compete with whatever traces of Mugwort inevitably remained in the soil. The perennials in this garden are still in their first full year, and will continue to spread over time, gradually forming a little ecosystem where they compete with each other and out-compete w**ds. In the meantime, we still keep an eye out for Mugwort, especially in the empty spaces in between perennials. All of this was accomplished with no chemical herbicides, no plastic w**d barriers — just hard work and a good strategy. If you have a corner of your yard, that’s been overrun by Mugwort, Porcelainberry, Garlic Mustard, or other invasive w**ds, get in touch! Late summer is a great time to tackle invasive species.
