I have a weed that’s very pervasive in my cultivated beds (not the woodlands, for some reason) and looked it up in a weed database. Oxalis or wood sorrel. I remembered my father showing me this weed and saying it was an indication of acidic soils, typical for New England. So all weekend I pulled the stuff from my garden beds. I also finally got to cleaning the very sad looking pansies out of the deck boxes and planting the – very stressed from being in too small pots too long – Art Deco dahlias. This should have been done during our last heat wave but frankly, I was cowering in the AC and watching Tour de France on TV.
I needed something to fill the rest of the boxes and stopped at Applefield Farm , a favorite place for annuals. The supply is smaller but the prices go down now. I found a couple of colorful coleus and I needed something smaller for the center box with two dahlias at either end. I saw this leafy plant with a pretty blend of pink, yellow and pale green and checked the tag for light requirements. It’s Oxalis! A Proven Winner’s selection called Molten Lava. And yes, I bought it and brought it home to plant. You just have to laugh.
When I looked deeper into Oxalis, this represents many very pretty varieties as well as my prolific weed. Some people even complain for lack of ability to grow them!
Updated picture with dahlia Art Deco blossoming.