It's that time of the year again when the frost has halted and it's time to get those gardens and ponds sorted out....but are you Being Plant Wise???
Certain plants can take over our gardens and ponds. They can also become established in the wild, where they can smother our native plants, clog our waterways, worsen flooding and remove oxygen from the water, which can harm fish.
By doing something very simple, such as composting excess plants carefully, we can all help the environment and reduce costs.
Be plant wise to the threat of invasive plants, which can take over your pond or garden and damage the environment.
Be careful if you move pond plants around – even tiny fragments can cause massive problems. Take care when maintaining your pond or disposing of waste water.
Don’t dump plants in the wild - you could be breaking the law. Always dispose of old plants and pond material responsibly, by composting or using a green waste bin.
and visit the Be Plant Wise website:
Found at a garden pond in Strathconon with a burn leading into the main River Meig. A potential problem but doesn't appear to be at the moment according to Meryl. 
American Skunk Cabbage has been steadily encroaching into an area of wet woodland by Loch Mhor. After failing to reduce the population with a spade, we resorted to glyphosate. All treated plants died. Those shown here were left as a control, and marked with a cane.
In the early stages of colonisation, Himalayan balsam can seem a fairly innocuous plant. But as it establishes, it can become heavily dominant, excluding native species.
To Be Plant Wise just follow these easy steps to ensure Invasive Non Native Plants don't spread into the surrounding countryside:
Scottish Native Woods will resume its programme to control Invasive Non-Native Plants (INNPS) in Glenurquhart this year. The project is being extended to include other INNPS hotspots in the Lower Ness catchment. These include several populations of Himalayan balsam around Inverness.
