Spring fever is upon me--a fever to rid my property of this harmless looking little creature. It all started with just fifty cents. The sign said, "Perennials". What a deal, I thought, and quickly hurried home with my Pulmonaria (species unknown), a.k.a. lungwort. I had never cared for the name--"lungwort" sounded like some kind of disease, but the plant, with its pale, white polka dots, looked pretty enough, and I had many empty spaces in my garden. Fifty cents filled one of them.

Following the old "the first year it sleeps" rule, that first year it mounded up nicely, and did nothing else. Its scratchy leaves were a nice contrast to other shiny-leaved plants. It did not hold true to the adage "the second year it creeps", however. By year two, it was already into stage three: "the third year it leaps!" Mine leaped all over the place, into other gardens and, worst of all, out into the woods, where I am afraid it could become an alien invader that will kill off wild flowers and other desirable flora. I hope that this spring fever doesn't spread to your garden or woodland. If it does, take two aspirins and grab the shovel.