Japanese honeysuckle. (Photo courtesy Illinois Department of Natural Resources)
The Japanese honeysuckle vine (Lonicera japonica) is in bloom in my neighborhood’s yard. It is one of the most invasive plants in Indiana because it escapes our backyard and strangles plants and pathways in natural areas.
Still, it smells fabulous, thus my guilty pleasure. It’s National Invasive Species Month, too. Celebrate by pulling out an invasive species from the landscape, a park, natural area or the neighborhood.
Here’s Landscaping with Non-Invasive Plant Species: Making the Right Choice, a downloadable pamphlet that will help to identify plants and describe those that we should not buy, sell or plant.
Back to my guilty pleasure, the only honeysuckle close to the forbidden vine’s fragrance is ‘Goldflame’ (L. x heckrottii), which I have in my yard. Fortunately, it does not fall into the invasive category. The hummingbirds love it, too.
'Goldflame' honeysuckle. (Photo courtesy Monrovia)
