Weeds

'A weed is simply a plant whose virtues we haven't yet discovered.' ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

'If garden flowers were slaves to men, then weeds were emblems of freedom and wildness' ~unknown

'So what is a weed?...I found dozens [of definitions], though almost all of them could be divided into two main camps. "A weed is any plant in the wrong place" fairly summarizes the first camp, and the second maintains, essentially, that "a weed is an especially aggressive plant that competes successfully against cultivated plants." In the first, Emersonian definition, the weed is a human construct; in the second, weeds possess certain inherent traits we did not impose. The metaphysical problem of weeds, I was beginning to think, is not unlike the metaphysical problem of evil: Is it an abiding property of the universe, or an invention of humanity.

One mans flowers are another's weeds.

These last two pieces are excerpts from Michael Pollan's book Second Nature. I found the paragraph so interesting. Our weeds only bad because we make them bad? When we lived in South Carolina we had a vine called Kudzu. I found the vine very pretty, but when I expressed my opinion out loud to not only my hubby but to other long time Southerners, I was almost stoned to death. I was told that Kudzu was the devil and would over take anything, strangled it and kill it or bust through the brick in your house and would soon be a permanent resident IN your house. I found it so strange that such a beautiful vine could do so much harm. Later in the Pollan's book he talks about planting these Willow trees near a pond on his property. Years later he had a local excavator come out to give him an estimate for some work he wanted done. Pollan started to tell the older gentlemen about his prized willows, and before he could finish the man said, 'why the hell did you plant that WEED?' Speaking of the willows. Pollan explained he was speechless at the old man's question. I guess it is true, a weed is in the eye of the beholder!

While cleaning up the yard these past couple weeks, Anthony and I have been pulling up this particular weed that can be found EVERYWHERE in our yard. So yesterday before we spent all the time in the yard, we went to a few nurseries and discovered that our annoying weed is actually I type of mint! UGH, I already had a notion that mint was the devil, in plant clothing, but this definitely confirms it. I grew mint once for about a week and than after reading more about it, I gave it a way to the first poor soul that offered.

Tomorrow is my first Herb Society Plant sale! I am super excited!!! Anthony and I have settled on growing 19 tomatoes total, why that many I am still not sure but I will do my best!

All for now! More later, Happy Gardening!