We’ve all had our fits with weeds, pulling them, spraying them, covering them up, digging them out, and even praying them away! Cathy Isom tells us why some weeds might be good for your garden. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Good weeds
Why Weeds Might Actually Be a Good Thing to Have in the Garden
Many gardeners spend considerable time cursing the unpropitious and unwanted arrival of weeds. Some even go so far as hating them, declaring an all out war with chemicals like Round Up, or organically ripping and tearing at them with abandon. It is the way we were raised.
However, things can be different. While weeds aren’t necessarily always in our garden plans, they can serve a purpose, several purposes actually. As gardeners and lovers of nature, greenness, animals, diversity and all things to the like, we must learn to look at weeds differently.
In fact, weeds are only considered “bad” because of how humans interact with them. They grow where they aren’t sown, where we don’t want them. They are often winningly competitive, peskily persistent and willfully disobedient.
But, they are not all bad. In nature, there are no “weeds”. All plants have their roles, and if we can start to see the good in our weeds, perhaps they’ll be welcomed additions, or at least visitors, to our gardens.