This is a list of plants that are in my garden or surrounding neighborhood. This is a very small list of plants that are harmful to our ecosystem, and keep in mind that there are hundreds of pages of invasives that are not listed here in this list. This is mostly for my personal reference, but you are welcome to learn from it too.
I would recommend this book if you are interested in learning more about invasives of the northeast US:
Mugwort
Scientific name: Artemisia vulgaris
It smells like sage, but I am also highly allergic to it. I love the smell, but will usually start to sneeze right after brushing against it. Pulling it will send my sinuses into an unpleasant day-long battle. You can probably tell what it is by the smell – you can also flip over a leaf, and the underside will be very light-colored.
Highly invasive. I don’t want my entire yard to be covered in it, so I must pull it.
Black Medick
Scientific name: Medicago lupulina
This is the 5th clover lookalike I’ve discovered in the yard. I wasn’t sure what this was until it flowered. It’s not native, considered “naturalized”, but it behaves invasively in my yard.
Clover
Scientific name: Trifolium repens
This stuff is really hard to pull out. It will come back and crowd out your plantings, so you’ll need to make it a regular part of your weeding routine. This might be a plant that you should accept you won’t be able to completely eradicate. I think it fixes nitrogen in the soil too, but you’ll need to do your own research on that one.
Pachysandra
Scientific name: pachysandra terminalis
This plant is a bully. It will ruin your day if you let it. Don’t let this plant ruin your day. It pulls out with relative ease, and you’ll need to keep on top of it to prevent a resurgence. I would say this one is not quite as easy to eradicate by hand as is English Ivy, but not nearly as challenging as clover.
English Ivy
Scientific name: Hedera helix
One of the worst offenders. It will kill your trees long before their natural lifespan. Luckily, it’s super easy to eradicate from a small garden, or even a larger plot of land. I find that it pulls up easily from the ground, and you can twist it into a ball and dump it in a pile so it can dry and die. Don’t rip it from your trees, however, you may damage the bark on your tree or brink a branch down onto yourself. Cut windows into the vines growing up trees. There are lots of different places that will teach you this skill – I encourage you to google that skill if you need it.
Sow Thistle
I’m pretty sure I have this one lurking in the neighbor’s yard and attempting to spring up in my own. They look a bit like mutant dandelion on stilts.