Lest folks think I have it in for all weeds (after my latest mustard diatribe), let me offer up for your consideration the pretty periwinkle (Vinca major). Commonly known around these parts simply as vinca, this is another blue coloured weed that I just love. Native to Europe, vinca is a hardy little riparian plant that thrives in moist, shady conditions and reproduces vegetatively from trailing stems. With it's shiny deep green leaves, and it's lavender-blue funnel shaped flowers, I find this plant an attractive addition to Vinoland's flora. Vinca can be unruly and invasive: if not kept in check it can choke out many native plant species. But the vinca in Vinoland mostly behaves itself, and merely serves to make me smile when I happen to spot it peeping out from behind a creek-side tree trunk.
Besides, what's not to love about an agreeable blue flower that shares the same first three letters with vino?
