Thank you, Facebook

One of the pleasures of being part of a Facebook 'interest group' is that it can frequently cause you to, well, get off your arse and do the right thing. Today was one of those days.
I am part of a group with ungainly name, 'Bringing Nature Home - a Native Plant Community'. It is populated by an enthusiastic group of gardeners that have read the books, and espouse the wisdom, of a gentleman named Doug Tallamy. His thesis is that the quarter-acre, perfectly manicured grass lawn is an ecological desert. Instead, as much as practical of that quarter acre ought to be native plants that are friendly to pollinators.

It was truly a blank slate...

Ten years ago, Betty, took that philosophy to heart when she designed the garden for 26 Pine Street. In her vision, it wouldn't just minimize the amount of grass: it would eliminate it. Instead, there would be pollinator-friendly trees, shrubs, perennials and ground covers; about 90 to 95% of which would be native.

The photo I posted

I periodically post photos of our garden to this group. Several days ago, I posted several photos of things in bloom on the property, including one of a striking butterfly weed called Asclepias 'Hello Yellow', The background of the photo showed the spent flower spikes of a stand of Carolina lupine (Thermopsis villosa) and, peeking over the top, several flower spikes of an oakleaf hydrangea (Querecifolia). Many people 'liked' the photo and one viewer asked about those background plants, which caused me to wonder why I was, in essence, hiding the oakleaf hydrangea from view.

My next photo - minus the spent seed heads.

So, I cut the lupine flower spikes and, suddenly, there was a great view of not only the oakleaf hydrangea but also a wonderful, dark-leaved ninebark . I posted that photo, which engendered discussion of whether cutting down seedheads was a good idea (mine stay on the property where they become food for birds and critters). But another viewer inquired as to how much space the hydrangea took up, and what requirements it had for such successful blooms.

The Spirea is the yellowish plant in the
center of the photo. It had quadrupled
in size in a decade.

Which caused me to go out and get a 'real' answer rather than make a guess. In the process, I realized the hydrangea was being squeezed by the ninebark, but even more so by a volunteer summersweet - and all were being encroached on by a spirea which was relentlessly enlarging its footprint. The spirea is the lone non-native in the above discussion.
The spirea has been there since the garden was planned in 2015. Yes, it is non-native, but it is attractive and has a long bloom. But it had also quadrupled in size. Common sense said it had to go. I had even allowed as much in my response to one commentor.

By noon, the spirea was history, and there
was lots of room for plants to expand.

This morning, I went out and removed it. And realized in the process it ought to have come out years ago. with the spirea gone, the four remaining shrubs (there are actually two oakleaf hydrangea) can spread out toward the morning sun. Two ground covers, a Bar Harbor juniper and bearberry (which in fact has a berry beloved by ursines) will vie for the 'floor' space.

The garden at noon today. The 'hole' where the spirea
was located is just above where the driveway meets
the parking pad along the street.

Were it not for those questions and comments, entropy would have decreed that the spirea would stay because... of some semi-plausible reason I would invent. Now, though, the deed is done and the garden will be better for it over the long run.
Thank you, Facebook, and especially 'Bringing Nature Home - a Native Plant Community', for getting me to go outside and do some honest work when where the humidity would have otherwise had me indoors all day.
(click on the photos to see how each one fits into the story)