PSA: The botanical garden in Portland is overrun with invasive weeds

I visited the Hoyt Arboretum last weekend and was honestly pissed off. I spotted English ivy choking out a whole section of native ferns near the visitor center. For a place that charges $12 entry, you'd think they'd pull that stuff. I spent 20 minutes yanking some myself before a ranger told me to stop. Has anyone else noticed this getting worse at public gardens?

3 comments

3 Comments

margaret_taylor4226d ago

Ugh, its like no one cares anymore. Saw the same thing at a local park near my house last week, blackberries taking over the whole trail. Feels like every public space is just giving up and letting the weeds win. People are too busy on their phones to pull a few plants or call it in. At least you tried to help, that ranger probably gets paid to shoo people away instead of actually doing anything.

ryanburns26d ago

Hang on though, @william_carter made a good point about the birds and bugs, but doesn't the trail being totally blocked make it hard for people to actually use the park? I get letting some wild areas grow, but there's a difference between a natural border and something you have to battle through just to take a walk. Did you try reporting it to the city parks department or anything like that, or did it seem like the same kind of nobody-will-do-anything situation?

william_carter26d ago

Gotta disagree a bit here. Maybe that ranger was trying to stop people from trampling something delicate or getting into poison oak, which happens all the time in overgrown spots. Plus blackberries are actually pretty useful for birds and bugs, so letting them grow in some areas isn't the worst thing in the world.

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