Someone defined a weed as any plant that’s growing in the wrong spot. I think most would agree it’s also any plant that is generally hated. Yet there are some who sing the praises of such as the lowly dandelion, an introduced plant originally intended as a consumable and a boon to the first bees of spring. And a few years ago I read an article advocating for letting the detestable creeping charlie take over your lawn so as to obviate the need to mow and enjoying its spring flush of purple blooms. (I wonder whether the writer ever had to contend with creeping charlie also taking over the rest of the garden.) Garlic mustard is another plant that’s not unattractive, but spreads too aggressively for my taste.
Probably a few sentences have been written discussing the difference between a weed and a wildflower. I have to admit to a certain acceptance for what some may regard as “weeds.” Over the years, I’ve decided to welcome all comers that look at least a little attractive because (a) they’re low/no maintenance, (b) they’re hard to eradicate, and (c) they’re free. Most do tend to proliferate, so it’s important to pull them out where they don’t belong. But if there’s space available, some of them can very nicely fill in what would be an otherwise empty spot. This perhaps causes some of you to cringe, especially those who don’t have the luxury of acreage to abandon to the whims of nature.
In the wide angle photo taken this May, there are yellowrocket (Barbarea vulgaris) and reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea) in the foreground, Dame’s Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) in the middle, with white hemlock parsley (Conioselinum chinense) in the background … all weeds or wildflowers as you will. In the fall, most of this area is taken over by goldenrod (Solidago speciosa), which does tend to spread rampantly, but is fairly easy to pull by hand. I guess it qualifies as a weed, depending on where it’s growing, though the late season pollinators would disagree. Hemlock parsley looks a lot like Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota), which is another wildflower I allow, and both have a habit of looking pretty cruddy when they go to seed. The answer is a quick topping with hedge trimmers.
By virtue of their willingness to run amok, wildflowers create discord for those gardeners who prefer combinations of flowers that are color coordinated. But white seems to fit in almost anywhere. For that reason I welcome daisy fleabane (Erigeron annuus) and white campion (Lychnis alba) along with the cultivated flowers. In the image of the cottage garden, the spots of white are daisy fleabane. If you want a neat and orderly garden, wildflowers can sabotage your best laid plans. As one of my favorite Dolly Parton songs: “wildflowers don’t care where they grow”.
Wild chicory (Cichorium intybus) has been well behaved on my property, but it’s not uncommon to see it blooming in large drifts along country roads. It actually has an interesting backstory, as do some other “weeds” originally introduced for food or medicinal purposes. Each chicory flower blooms only to mid-day, although the plants produce flowers pretty much all summer. While this Old World wildflower/weed has sometimes proliferated to become a plant pest, it is also cultivated for its food uses; the roots can be roasted and ground as a coffee substitute or additive. Young leaves may be used in salads. Emulating the late Ewell Gibbons, some day I might work up the courage to give it a taste test!
Obviously, you’re not likely to find any of these at your local garden center. Certainly there are some plants that are truly detestable; many gardeners face never-ending tasks of weeding a wide variety of herbaceous thugs. They’re always there. Perhaps the definition of a weed versus a wildflower is cast in Jello rather than cast in cement. Many of you are probably saying “I know a weed when I see it.” I guess I do too. Call me a pushover for anything that looks sort of pretty.
I made a sign for one of my garden plots that says “Pay no attention to the weeds – if you look, it only encourages them”.
I’m very happy to let wildings and blow ins join my garden. As you say,they make good fillers. This year,my front garden consists entirely of seedlings that have arrived via my compost heap; it’s not a huge space,but with minimum editing it looks amazing! Even my rather straightlaced neighbours approve,believing that these are ‘tame ‘ flowers!
I agree totally and love your “garden”
“It only encourages them” – love it!
And then there are the flowers that act like weeds, larkspur, love-in-the-mist, forget-me-nots, annual poppies, and violets which can be just as invasive.
I’d love to have one of your “problems” in my garden — especially the annual poppy! And my response perfectly illustrates what the author is talking about. Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so is a weed.
I allow “volunteers” and wildflowers. In fact, they are some of my favorites in my garden.
The common violet is welcome in all my beds!! It helps with ground cover and the flowers and leaves are pretty.
I may put your weed sign up in my own yard.
Go for it!
A few years back I noticed a large wooly leaf plant in my garden bed. I left it alone to
see what would happen. When the tall, yellow spikey flower appeared, I googled it and
read all about the benefits of “mullein” as an herbal remedy and pollinator plant for bees.
Each year it pops up in a different place, sometimes looking very out of place, but I keep
it in the garden for all of its benefit in the environment. Visitors often ask about it making
it a fun topic of conversation as well.
I too found mullein growing in my prairie patch, but it has a hard time competing with the more aggressive plants. One thing I failed to mention was the milkweed, which is an important plant for the Monarch butterflies. Sometimes it has to be pulled out in certain spots, but it’s a messy job … the sap is really sticky.
Calls to mind Ryan Gainey’s phrase and documentary , “The Well Placed Weed”. Right plant, right place, right? I think that was his meaning.
I have some sedges that keep popping up in my woodland. Not as showy as the cultivated ones, but still very attractive. I let them be.
And yes, violets.
It doesn’t surprise me when garden plants moved to new places become weeds. What I found amazing was when the wild evening primroses I tried unsuccessfully to transplant into my Texas garden when I was a 12 year old started showing up in garden catalogs and nurseries here in New York. The fleabane in my yard smells so sweet in the evening that I try not to disturb it when it pops up here and there. I am hoping to see a version of it, perhaps with larger flowers and a more pleasing shape, become popular in gardens. Same with the chicory blue flowers. Maybe I can work on breeding garden versions of these in my retirement.
I purposely mow around the milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) to leave it for butterflies. (not just monarchs) I have daisies in my front bed because they’re happy plants and white goes with everything. It looks wild and that’s the look I want so I guess it works. I appreciate formal, ordered gardens but I’m too lazy to make one of my own. My other excuse is I don’t have the house that would go with one like that.
I think it’s great that at 82 you are still so involved in gardening. I hope to get there.
Thanks, Kris. The natural infirmities of age have forced me to slow down a bit. Usually I work for about an hour, then rest before hitting the garden again later.