As noted a few posts back, weedness is strictly a matter of context. "Weed" is not a botanical classification. Weed-itude - or weed-osity, if you prefer - has to do only with the undesirability of a given plant in a given place at a given time. Like crab grass in my perennial bed. Now, that's a weed. At any time.
My friend Lissy once shared her philosophy of gardening with me. It has at its heart the idea of offensive rather than defensive gardening. Offensive gardening, according to Lissy, is the planting and/or nurturing of plants you want in your garden, instead of forever being on the defensive and spending all your time pulling out the plants that you don't want, i.e., weeding. I would add, along with planting and/or nurturing, tolerating.
All it takes is a bit of rethinking. Cleome was a weed last year. I pulled out dozens of them in the back garden. This year, after seeing it for sale at Pettiti's (forgive me - I hope I have the correct number of Ts in Pettiti's), I decided to amend its status. After all, it does have very pretty pink and white blooms. So this year - ta-da! - Cleome is a flowering perennial. And I didn't have to buy it at Pettiti's. It was a volunteer.
I've also determined that bugle weed, a tenacious little plant that has spread all around in back, is no longer a weed. I'm never going to get all of it out of there so it's now a ground cover, at least in the back garden. It's still a weed if it shows up in the front yard. Of course I let it bloom so I can enjoy its nice blue flowers along with the cheery dandelions. Then I chop their flowery little heads off when I mow the lawn. (I don't want to think too much about the satisfaction this seems to give me. Some aspects of our personalities are better left unexplored.)
I have milkweed in my garden, too, and lots of Queen Ann's lace. I got the seeds last fall from some plants by the Drug Mart parking lot. Queen Ann's lace is a weed there, but in my garden, it's a flower. So are goldenrod and yarrow. They're all flowers.
Remember, acceptance is the key to better mental health. (Works for me.)
About Me
- Jan C. Snow
- Since 1984, my light commentary, Marginal Considerations, has been a feature of Weekend Radio. Moving into the 21st century (yeah, I know - a decade late and more than a dollar short), it may be time to explore the format known as "the blog." (Still on the radio, BTW.) I am the author of A Natural History of Socks, illustrated by the late Eric May, You May Already Be a Winner (and other marginal considerations) and The Nonexistence of Rutabagas, plus maybe 1K features, essays, book and arts reviews in newspapers and magazines nearly everywhere, except perhaps Kansas. I live on Lake Erie one city to the west of Cleveland with too many musical instruments, several large plants and no cats. My front door is purple. I collect dust, take up space and burn fossil fuel. I kayak, knit, hike, sing, canoe, write choral music and play hammered dulcimer, but not all at the same time. I read too much and don't write enough, but what's new?
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