Weeds or Wildflowers?

Anyone who has done any gardening knows about weeds. Those pesky plants just seem to pop up everywhere you don't want them -- in the flower beds, among the vegetables, and along the garden path. They even spring up in the middle of a pristine lawn, ruining the effect of a beautiful carpet of green grass. Untold hours are spent pulling them out of the ground or spraying them with chemicals. We want to have beautifully manicured lawns and picture-perfect landscaping, with colorful blooms in just the right places. But inevitably, things will grow that we hadn't planned on.

I have lots of weeds in my garden, and they grow year-round. Instead of raking leaves, I pull weeds. Instead of shoveling snow, I pull weeds. And sometimes, when I just want to relax on my patio with a cold drink and a good book, I am taunted by the Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) invading my gardenias and the Spanish needle (Bidens alba) springing up in my Argentine ivy (Tradescantia microfolia). Fortunately, I prefer a more natural-looking landscape to an artificially clipped and snipped plot of land. To most people, these plants look like weeds. But upon further inspection, one will discover their beauty. These aren't weeds; they are wildflowers! It's simply a matter of perspective.

 

These tiny flowers may not look showy to a passer-by, but their colors and shapes are really very pretty. Honey bees buzz from blossom to blossom, collecting pollen to take back to their hives, and butterflies dance around, decorating the air with their jeweled wings. Ants and other  insects crawl on the leaves and stems, and lizards hop from one plant to the next to catch a tasty morsel. All this activity that goes unnoticed by the casual observer attracts birds who want to join in the fun. And then the birds splash about in the birdbath and sing from the trees. From the tiniest insect to the most colorful feathered friend, my garden is humming with activity -- all because of a few weeds.

Yes, weeds can be a nuisance. But wildflowers add to the abundance of life in my garden. And for that, I can be thankful! It's simply a matter of perspective!