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Why I Have “Weeds”

“What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have never been discovered.”  

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

I always have some “weeds” in my yard.  I let them flourish.  One reason is that I saw the birds continually feeding on the seeds.

And then there are bees, butterflies, and me.  Several plants growing here are edible and have a long history of human consumption and yet they are considered “weeds”. I find nothing undesirable about free food and the Finch agrees.

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What do you think?

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    • People don’t always understand natural gardening. Letting things go to seed, leaving them through the winter, not clearing up everything too early in the spring so as not to interfere with the life cycle of living things, — It is possible to to enjoy all the seasons of a garden for what they are naturally. I leave areas relatively wild and I was careful not to exterminate completely anything that was growing here. When I arrived I did tons of observing what lived and visited before I decided how I would interfere. But try explaining to the neighbors who see the “unkempt”.

    • House Finches love to eat the seeds in the closed dandelion flowers in the spring. I have native grasses also that they eat in the fall if I let them go to seed. The plants in the picture are related to dandelions but grow very tall and go to seed in the late summer. My neighbors may not be amused by my weed sloth.

    • Yes dandelions are useful in many ways. I also dry and roast the roots sometimes. I never have made dandelion wine though. In Northern areas here dandelions are the first to appear after the winter – the source of the traditional spinach salad was dandelions.

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