May 17, 2013

alonelyhunter asked: hey! this is your friend katie at wetheweeds. i am wondering if that weed you keep describing as amaranthus - pigweed, is not in fact curly dock? i can't seem to figure it out, and it's been bugging me since i saw that beautiful photo of the clump of them with the bike in front... also, as a fellow philadelphia urban flora enthusiast, i am wondering who you are? glad you're doing your thing! KP

Hi Kate,

Great point, thank you for the correction. I think I do frequently get those two mixed up, due to the similar seed head and stalk colors at times. I’ll update those posts, thanks! And keep up the good work over at http://wetheweeds.tumblr.com/ your labels are looking great.

10:33am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZK6a-vlBAtrT
(Notes: 1)
  
May 13, 2013
Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica) is slowly staking claim to the back corner of a parking lot in Bryn Mawr, PA. The segmented stalks are bamboo-esc, and while not growing as tall, it seems to grow almost as fast.

Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica) is slowly staking claim to the back corner of a parking lot in Bryn Mawr, PA. The segmented stalks are bamboo-esc, and while not growing as tall, it seems to grow almost as fast.

2:49pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZK6a-vkvTs9k
Filed under: japanese knotweed bryn mawr weeds 
May 10, 2013
Photo: Jared Crossman. Redroot Pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus) Curly Dock brazenly shoots up in Philadelphia as if to directly taunt their nemesis, the weedwacker. Of course most mowing and/or other cutting only strengthens highly evolved spontaneous plants, as they can generally bounce back with more vigor. I believe this spot is in center city, here in Philadelphia. Thanks for the photo!

Photo: Jared Crossman.

Redroot Pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus) Curly Dock brazenly shoots up in Philadelphia as if to directly taunt their nemesis, the weedwacker. Of course most mowing and/or other cutting only strengthens highly evolved spontaneous plants, as they can generally bounce back with more vigor. I believe this spot is in center city, here in Philadelphia.

Thanks for the photo!

9:26am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZK6a-vkfS12x
(Notes: 2)
  
Filed under: weeds overgrown philly philadelphia curly dock 
May 9, 2013
Photos: Andy Nicholas. This tree was spotted at the 4th Avenue/9th Street stop on the F/G train platform in Brooklyn this past weekend. Despite the MTA having done a lot of work along this line recently, somehow this tree/plant has managed to sneak in - growing out of a crack in what is possibly concrete? Thanks for the submission!

Photos: Andy Nicholas.

This tree was spotted at the 4th Avenue/9th Street stop on the F/G train platform in Brooklyn this past weekend. Despite the MTA having done a lot of work along this line recently, somehow this tree/plant has managed to sneak in - growing out of a crack in what is possibly concrete?

Thanks for the submission!

12:04pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZK6a-vkbJ8wf
(Notes: 2)
  
Filed under: nyc new york city brooklyn mta subway weeds a tree grows in brooklyn 
May 3, 2013
Shattered glass makes a little pool in a field of Crown Vetch, Curly Dock, and many other species on Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia. We’re firmly in the second-most exciting time of the year for urban weeds: proper spring. It is the time of year when you’re expected to place bets on which areas will thrive, which will burn out too quickly, which will get greedy and result in mowing, and which plants will successfully reclaim spaces for the long haul. This particular lot, while looking great at the moment, is in danger of getting too greedy early on in the season. All of the stalks of Curly Dock are almost chest-high and it’s the beginning of May. I fear their highly visible spot next to an Irish bar on Frankford Avenue will result in a mow in a few weeks, sadly. As a footnote, the most exciting time of year for urban weeds is very late summer, where you can see the progress made during the growing season, and admire the most aggressive of plants at their prime, just before things hunker down for fall.

Shattered glass makes a little pool in a field of Crown Vetch, Curly Dock, and many other species on Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia.

We’re firmly in the second-most exciting time of the year for urban weeds: proper spring. It is the time of year when you’re expected to place bets on which areas will thrive, which will burn out too quickly, which will get greedy and result in mowing, and which plants will successfully reclaim spaces for the long haul.

This particular lot, while looking great at the moment, is in danger of getting too greedy early on in the season. All of the stalks of Curly Dock are almost chest-high and it’s the beginning of May. I fear their highly visible spot next to an Irish bar on Frankford Avenue will result in a mow in a few weeks, sadly.

As a footnote, the most exciting time of year for urban weeds is very late summer, where you can see the progress made during the growing season, and admire the most aggressive of plants at their prime, just before things hunker down for fall.

5:51pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZK6a-vk8p6UO
(Notes: 1)
  
Filed under: philly philadelphia weeds overgrown fishtown crown vetch grass field spring curly dock 
April 30, 2013
Slow reclamation of a sidewalk in Culebra, Puerto Rico.

Slow reclamation of a sidewalk in Culebra, Puerto Rico.

9:58am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZK6a-vju07Kn
Filed under: puerto rico weeds sidewalk overgrown culebra 
April 25, 2013
This is an empty lot that everyone cuts through to go between the beer distribution place and the grocery store, in Northern Liberties, Philadelphia. There’s no denying that it’s putting on quite a nice face in spring, courtesy of many Dandelions (Taraxacum).

This is an empty lot that everyone cuts through to go between the beer distribution place and the grocery store, in Northern Liberties, Philadelphia. There’s no denying that it’s putting on quite a nice face in spring, courtesy of many Dandelions (Taraxacum).

1:23pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZK6a-vjWRyAo
(Notes: 2)
  
Filed under: dandelion taraxacum philadelphia philly northern liberties weeds vacant lot 
April 23, 2013
Photo:wetheweeds.tumblr.comGood to see our little buddies here in Philly getting some due respect. alonelyhunter: WE THE WEEDS project is underway!  wetheweeds: “To give a thing a name, a label, a handle; to rescue it from anonymity, to pluck it out of the Place of Namelessness, in short to identify it— well, that’s a way of bringing the said thing into being.” Salman Rushdie, Haroun and the Sea of Stories FIRST BATCH OF WEED LABELS, FINALLY HITTIN THE STREETS. KEEP YER EYES PEELED, PHILADELPHIA!

Photo:wetheweeds.tumblr.com
Good to see our little buddies here in Philly getting some due respect.

alonelyhunter:

WE THE WEEDS project is underway! 

wetheweeds:

“To give a thing a name, a label, a handle; to rescue it from anonymity, to pluck it out of the Place of Namelessness, in short to identify it— well, that’s a way of bringing the said thing into being.”

Salman Rushdie, Haroun and the Sea of Stories

FIRST BATCH OF WEED LABELS, FINALLY HITTIN THE STREETS. KEEP YER EYES PEELED, PHILADELPHIA!

9:37am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZK6a-vjMGvN9
(Notes: 3)
  
April 21, 2013
Many areas are waiting to return to forests when people turn their backs. In cities (and even suburbs and small towns), the freshly-mowed lawn is considered the most aesthetically-pleasing way of treating land that doesn’t have a building on top of it. There’s this fear that when small bushes and a diverse group of natural and invasive spontaneous plants move in, that it’s a place that can harbor rats and snakes. To me, the beauty within the spontaneity of the plant world will always trump manicured turfgrass.

Many areas are waiting to return to forests when people turn their backs. In cities (and even suburbs and small towns), the freshly-mowed lawn is considered the most aesthetically-pleasing way of treating land that doesn’t have a building on top of it. There’s this fear that when small bushes and a diverse group of natural and invasive spontaneous plants move in, that it’s a place that can harbor rats and snakes. To me, the beauty within the spontaneity of the plant world will always trump manicured turfgrass.

11:54am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZK6a-vjCi4t9
(Notes: 10)
  
Filed under: philadelphia philly weeds grass overgrown vacant lot 
April 16, 2013
I love the way dense thickets of weeds form in urban Philadelphia. This is an abandoned brewery complex in Northern Liberties, very close to quite expensive real estate (Sept 2012). Its days are sadly numbered.

I love the way dense thickets of weeds form in urban Philadelphia. This is an abandoned brewery complex in Northern Liberties, very close to quite expensive real estate (Sept 2012). Its days are sadly numbered.

1:52pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZK6a-viqtyqX
(Notes: 9)
  
Filed under: weeds philadelphia philly northern liberties ortlieb's brewery abandoned graffiti 
April 15, 2013
A persistent Tree-of-Heaven continues to break up the concrete along a sidewalk, despite being cut back previously.

A persistent Tree-of-Heaven continues to break up the concrete along a sidewalk, despite being cut back previously.

8:44pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZK6a-vinyb_B
(Notes: 1)
  
Filed under: tree-of-heaven ailanthus philadelphia philly 
April 11, 2013
Source: Kahn & Selesnick “The King of Weeds”

Source: Kahn & Selesnick

“The King of Weeds”

10:38am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZK6a-viRHXd-
(Notes: 7)
  
Filed under: weeds canoe art creepy 
April 10, 2013
During Philadelphia’s population decline in past decades (though now the tables have turned), many vacant lots appeared in North Philly, opening up opportunities for spontaneous plants to thrive.

During Philadelphia’s population decline in past decades (though now the tables have turned), many vacant lots appeared in North Philly, opening up opportunities for spontaneous plants to thrive.

12:01pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZK6a-viMjCiY
(Notes: 1)
  
Filed under: philly weeds overgrown philadelphia 
April 9, 2013
Mullein finds some spots to grow on an old brick wall along the canal in Manayunk, Philadelphia in early spring.

Mullein finds some spots to grow on an old brick wall along the canal in Manayunk, Philadelphia in early spring.

4:57pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZK6a-viIz3o0
(Notes: 5)
  
Filed under: weeds mullein philadelphia philly manayunk graffiti bricks 
April 8, 2013
"

By Bill Hayes for the New York Times:

“Someone asked me the other day how I had gotten over the sudden death of someone I loved. What I wanted to say but found myself unable to explain (for it would have sounded too strange) was that I learned a good deal about moving through grief from some trees I once knew. They were not my trees. I didn’t plant them. I lived in an apartment surrounded by them. The only tending done was to give them my full attention over the course of four seasons.

When I moved in it was April, still cold, and the branches were bare. Facing northeast, my view of Manhattan was unobstructed, seen through a latticework veil. There were five trees, each distinct. They were not beautiful. My next-door neighbor, a landscape designer, told me that the species, Ailanthus altissima, is an urban weed. But I never expected beauty. That they were tall and strong and present was enough. I found that Ailanthus derives from an Indonesian word meaning “tree of heaven.”

"

—

continued here: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/07/opinion/sunday/a-year-in-trees.html

Thanks for the heads-up, Hans.

semi-related, back in 1996, the species started to take a hit, according to the Times, but I think it bounced back quickly:
http://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/08/nyregion/tree-that-grew-in-brooklyn-is-dying-all-over-new-york.html

11:35am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZK6a-viCu9Yi
Filed under: tree-of-heaven ailanthus urban weeds nyc new york city ny 
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