Evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) is a survivor and useful to a garden habitat, but it does fall into the weed category. A classic North American meadow biennial, it stays a small rosette in its first season, and follows the next as a tall, all-summer bloomer. The striking yellow flowers start to open later in the afternoon and last only one to two days at a time. They quickly set seed, and the invasion will begin as the seeds start falling to the ground. According to many sources, evening primrose is a valuable pollinator resource. And the roots, shoots and flowers can be eaten and also used for herbal remedies. The fleshy taproots can be cooked like potatoes, and the leaves can be eaten in salads. The blooms are sweet-tasting plucked right from the plant, and oil made from its seeds is said to be a natural remedy for skin conditions like eczema and to offer relief from rheumatoid arthritis. As gardeners, we put a lot of stock in a plant’s ease of management, and evening primrose could be considered a little difficult. Either way, I think the blooms are beautiful, so if one pops up here and there it is not the end of the world. Just…
