There has been a lot of talk in our local newspapers about the damage caused to the marshes and wetlands by invasive species of exotic plants. Tall stands of phragmites have altered our beautiful landscape, changed the views of the marsh, invaded the habitats of birds, choked out native species and created a shift in the brackish "nursery" of Connecticut's shoreline. The salty wetlands had been previously viewed as dead space, often filled in and reclaimed by developers who needed more land for homes, industrial parks and highways. There seems to be a new interest in maintaining the biodiversity of the natural resources found in our native wetlands... and a big push to rid them of this invasive plant. The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection is heading up an eradication program which uses a combination of herbicides and mowing to keep the phragmites in check.The time has come to rid my quilt of the phragmite pieces that I made on the first and second days of piecing the top. I don't know what I was thinking! I had wanted to use a prominent motif from the Farmlands quilt, and had some yellow and green "field" fabric in my reject pile. I had made the tops of the phragmites and put reed pieces underneath, and had been quite pleased with the results. Now I am not so sure. This is not supposed to be a representational piece as much as an impression of the marsh and grasses. It is time to edit those out... not with bulldozers and herbicides, but with a simple clip of a scissor.
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