Weeds are unwelcomed guests in your garden beds, cracks in the sidewalk, and throughout your lawn. We curse them, try and kill them, and they bring out the beast in us as we yank them root and all from the Earth. Personally, I never have so much satisfaction as when I am pulling those suckers right out the ground. It is down right peacefull except when I end up pulling flowers that I thought were weeds.
When I plant my garden, I always swear that I will mark where I plant. The best laid plans of mice and men (in my case, women), right? Well, my markers fall down and I am not sure what I planted. So my weed friends grow and I am not sure if they are flowers or foes. Sometimes, I wait until they are large and call for reinforcements by sending my weed pictures to my county master gardener extension. I am always hoping that they will tell me that some bird dropped a master piece in my garden.
One day, I sent my pictures over to the master gardeners. I was all excited about one weed and swore it was special. The woman on the phone explained that “weeds are flowers that we don’t think are beautiful.”
Wow. Pretty profound, don’t you think? Some weeds have really beautiful flowers and I wonder why they are weeds.
Take a look at the picture above. Is this not an amazing weed?
With its white trumpet flowers?
And green fuzzy balls? So, gardeners what is it??? Tell me this is a weed. I dare you.
Weeds I think are like people. Some you find to be nuisance; Others you find they rub you the wrong way or make your world less beautiful. Just like people, weeds are all a part of Mother Nature. Why do we despise them so much? Why do make sure our lawns are pristine, not a hair of dandelion or clover left in the wake? Why do we spend so much money on watering and fertilizing our lawns? Is it a reflection of our perception of beauty?
Perhaps weeds are a metaphor for accepting what is not perfect in our world. Finding the beauty in everything?
Personally, I think we should stop and smell the flowers whether they are from weeds or plants. Spend less time trying to make our world so perfect and let a little weed mess up our landscape canvas.
What are your thoughts about our obsession with weeds? Do you see any parallels with weeds in our own lives?
Hyla says
September 15, 2008 at 11:26 pmI do not have any problems with weeds. Not sure how they became labeled as “bad” they are still nature, right? They still help to reduce the carbon in our air….
Hyla
http://earthyfinds.blogspot.com
Hylas last blog post..Kids are Awesome!
Mary says
September 17, 2008 at 2:56 pmIf the flower was bigger, it would be a moon flower so I’m guessing that it’s in the same family only a wilder version. The leaves look alike.
FJL Nong says
September 20, 2008 at 5:30 amHi
Sometimes weed has beautiful flowers, u know there are some beautiful flowers in the wild where people regard them as weed, but then when someone stumbles upon them and commercial them, hey presto, they become exotic plants..yours there seems a papaya leaf look alike but not quite as it is smaller..I love to see more..we can share each other the plants in our place..
from the other part of the world.
Malaysia
FJL Nong.
FJL Nongs last blog post..Sweet Potato, betel nut
Watch anime Online says
October 4, 2008 at 11:31 amI like the way you think of flowers, i never use Weedicides on my plants, because they are just leave, just because they are of no use, we cant kill them, can we ?
Thanks for the great post again !
Watch anime Onlines last blog post..Naruto Shippuden 78 -79 English subbed
John Rigby says
December 18, 2008 at 8:20 amI was just thinking about Weeds Are Just Unloved Flowers and you’ve really helped out. Thanks!
Flower says
January 4, 2009 at 2:16 am“weeds are flowers that we don’t think are beautiful.”- I just love that line. I guess it’s all in the way we see them. This post is quite metaphorical.
Types of Weeds says
January 16, 2009 at 8:27 amThere’s a good deal of beauty to be found in weeds. Many produce very nice looking flowers.
Juan-South Florida Landscaper says
January 22, 2009 at 2:21 amI don’t really like weeds but I don’t hate it either and I still have many of those in my backyard that still somehow adds beauty to my backyard garden.
Zero says
May 10, 2009 at 4:24 amYes, some weeds have really beautiful flowers. There are some weeds that I didn’t took off from my garden because they produces beautiful flowers. Although their flowers are small and cannot be put in the vase, they add color to my garden. So, I really agree with what the woman on the phone said that weeds are flowers that we don’t think are beautiful.
Lisa @Retro Housewife Goes Green says
April 18, 2010 at 1:46 pmThat white flower is so pretty! I think my yard looks nice with all the flowering weeds, we have blue, yellow and white ones. I think they are prettier than boring grass. 🙂
.-= Lisa @Retro Housewife Goes Green´s last blog ..Happy Earth Day Celebration Week! =-.
Plumbers Berkeley says
August 15, 2010 at 11:14 amPlants is the essence of survival and basic necessity of mankind. Some provides healing and some are deadly. I have to say that this plant on the photo is lovely!
Wouldliketo remain Annonymous says
February 14, 2011 at 2:11 pmthis is a variety of Belladonna, also called Angel’s trumpet flower of the DATURA family of species. look up for either of the words on line n u will get info. In eastern & oriental countries like combodia, vietnam, korea, myanmar etc in the olden days this was used for medicine. the whole plant including roots were used for medicine in combination with other plants. this family comes in many colours flowers n diff sizes of flowers with slight variation to the trumpet edges n leaf. If one dosent know how to make medicine then one should not try as this is a very TOXIC plant. WEAR GLOVES WHEN HANDLING IT! mostly the medicine was topicaly sued only. My grandmother used it for her rheumatism/arthrities in combination with Periwinkle & other plants to make a nature-cure medicine. I never learnt it so I dont know how, but my parents & grandparents generation people used to grow it for many diff uses for medicine as well as some kind of treatment for garden plants too!!! thank u.
Anna@Green Talk says
February 14, 2011 at 10:34 pmAnon, thanks so much for the information. I didn’t realize it was poisonous to touch. I can’t figure out how they keep popping up in my garden. I thought they were an annual. Anna
cygon says
June 1, 2012 at 2:08 pmI love dandelions. they are medicinal and nutritious, from flower to root.
there is a common weed in my native country with leaves that fold when you touch them. we used to stomp on them cuz they were so common. waddaya know they costs at least $20 per plant kit (seeds?) in the science museum.
Suzanne Giancoli says
May 22, 2016 at 6:03 amI have a beautiful ground cover that people call a weed. In the Spring it blooms into beautiful little purple flowers that I bring in and put in vases. They were given to me by a woman who called them “sweet william” but I looked up sweet william and it does not look like them. I will send a picture soon.
Anna@Green Talk says
May 24, 2016 at 9:36 pmIs it creeping charlie? Take a look at the pictures or is it dead nettle?