ID’d a shrub in the flower bed with the help of urbpan’s 365-species project. (Yay!) It’s a burning bush. (Noooo!) Burning bush is a nasty invasive that’s often used as an ornamental, but which spreads by seeds and fills woodlands and is banned in a couple of states, but of course they still sell it at garden centers because landscapers *mumblemumblefrothmumble*

So it had to die.

James, sighing, took it out with shovel and pickaxe. “I hate to kill it! It’s doing so well!”

“That’s how you know it’s bad,” said Ursula, garden cynic.

I replaced it with a native deciduous holly which has gorgeous yellow-orange berries and should provide as much fall interest as a burning bush without wreaking ecological havoc. I am pleased.