A large, green monster from Japan is invading our state. No, not Godzilla. It's called Japanese knotweed. I know you've seen it, whether you knew what it was or not. TNT reporter Susan Gordon wrote a sobering story about the invasive plant that is taking over riparian areas in the Northwest.

If you missed our story you can read it here.

Here's the scary part: like Scotch broom, Polygonum cuspidatum was imported here as an ornamental.

It's stories like these that make me want to plant nothing but native species in my garden. There are plenty of folks who already do that and I have no quibble with them.

I'm not there yet but I do make sure that the ornamentals I plant aren't invasive. If something gets too thuggish it's out of there.

Having said all that here's the startling sidenote to knotweed. There's a North American native variety that's not only not invasive but much more beautiful than its brutish cousin.

This is Polygonum virginianum 'Painter's palette.' This is the third one I've planted in my garden. They seem to die out after a few years or either I don't take care of them.

I've never seen a shoot, seedling or anything else come off this plant. So, I'm fairly certain it won't take over your garden. It stays small and compact but mostly I grow it because it has the most amazing leaves I've ever seen on a hardy perennial/shrub in the Northwest.