Weed Watchers Report: May

Okay, so not all these are not weeds--not if you think about what weed means.

weed
–noun
1. a valueless plant growing wild, especially one that grows on cultivated ground to the exclusion or injury of the desired crop.

2. any undesirable or troublesome plant, especially one that grows profusely where it is not wanted: The vacant lot was covered with weeds.


And that effectively eliminates these irises growing in my yard. What a relief. I only have a couple of these beauties and it'd be a crying shame to pull them out!

Trinity flowers

Years ago I tried my hand at a shade garden. I honestly tried. While I do fine with the plants inside my house, anything outside my four walls tends to die. Here's one of the few flowers left amongst the weeds--Trinity flowers. These things are hardy! They've survived neglect, drought and being eaten by my brother-in-law's horses. It was the final straw for me. Now I just enjoy their wild beauty. ;-)

Yarrow

Now here is an honest-to-goodness weed: Yarrow. But it grows in with the Trinity Flowers and this is one that is useful. I also planted this one in the shade garden to make sure I'd always have at least a small supply of Yarrow.

Any idea what it's used for?





Although these are left to the weeds, they certainly aren't weeds. Unfortunately we didn't get them sprayed so this is probably the nicest they'll look all year--and we won't get to eat any. Bummer 'cuz we all really like peaches.

Peaches

One of the benefits of having Gracie around (she's my Great Pyrennes) is that we actually get to enjoy blueberries! In years past we were lucky to beat the deer to the blueberry bushes. But now that Gracie is here, we're getting bumper crops of yummy blueberries. Yumz! Can't wait!

Blueberry blossoms

Here ya go! What many of us around here claim to be a bona-fide weed: Wild Grape Vines. What a tangled mess they make in the fence rows! But, they do make for crispy pickles!

Wild Grape

And apples! Being a girl from Maine, apple trees are a must. It's one of the things I missed most when I lived in Ecuador.

Apples

Now that all the water has soaked in and run off, the weeds are really beginning to grow. I mean the real weeds--the ones many of you who live in towns and cities spray to get rid of.

Sometime this summer I'll show you some good weeds and what I do with them. Can you guess?

I'll give you a hint: rather than getting rid of them, I've been known to tend and harvest them.

So tell me, how are the weeds (and otherwise) by you?