I often wonder how we would think of certain plants if the word “weed” had never found its way into our vocabulary. The word, mostly due to saturation marketing, unfairly and too broadly labels many plants as “bad”.
It is true that some plants can become nuisances, invasive, and disruptive to local ecosystems. Yet, most plants that have been tagged as weeds serve great purposes, such as preventing erosion, building the soil, and supporting animal and insect populations. Many are wildflowers that are never appreciated for their simple beauty or importance to the surrounding biological community.
I am fortunate to live on this small farm that is not governed by rules or norms – neither legal or social – that require me to keep a perfect sward of grass. Well-kept yards are important in that they prevent erosion and provide valuable green space, yet due to the many unnatural inputs to maintain them as mono stands, they do not support other life, and if let go, cannot even support themselves for long.
I am all for diversity and the lack of uniformity that comes from encouraging different plant communities to thrive throughout my lawn and fields. I like how these areas change through the seasons, always providing new wonders. I especially like observing the succession of dominating plants through the changing seasons, and how they come to support so many different insects and animals. It is so much more fascinating and rewarding to experience all these things than it is to look out onto sea of green blandness that only supports a “keep off“ sign!
I am not against yards. I spent much of my career as a golf course superintendent creating and maintaining mono stands. At the same time, I was able to set aside unmaintained, natural areas. What I feel is that some balance at the least would be best – perhaps designating more areas that are not controlled by marketing, laws, and chemicals. Areas where nature can just be, and where we can learn to appreciate a world that most of us have never had the chance to know.
Photo: Purple Dead Nettle, a “weed”, is actually an edible herb that has medicinal uses, and provides early spring nectar to native pollinators.
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