What is your definition of a weed? I have heard people say that a weed is any flower that you don’t want in your garden. Merriam-Webster’s definition is: a plant that is not valued where it is growing and is usually of vigorous growth; especially: one that tends to overgrow or choke out more desirable plants.

Every flower has a purpose, and that doesn’t mean a weed still isn’t beautiful and creates a sense of awe.

By calling something a weed, I’m not meaning it disparagingly. For me, it means that I don’t want that particular bloom in my garden. Every flower has a purpose, and that doesn’t mean a weed still isn’t beautiful and creates a sense of awe.

Here are a few “weeds” for me that are amazing and beautiful, but I still would prefer not to see them in my gardens.

Wild Morning Glories

“Good morning” are the words this wildflower whispers to me as I set up my camera. The sun is ready to show itself over the mountains. I peer through my lens and I see this flower in its tightly rung shape as it wakes from its sleepy night. As it unwinds under the warmth of this golden sun, it whispers again, “Good morning” to this glorious day, and I smile back and reply the same.

Chicory

Happenstance gave me the opportunity to photograph this flower. A flower I have seen so often and yet it has eluded me…though that would be my fault, not the flower’s. One day on my way home from the New York Botanical Garden, I made a detour through Waveny Park in New Canaan, CT. On my last turn up a small dead-end dirt road, a small pop of blue along the road caught my eye, and now it eludes me no more.

Bladder Companion

My camera in-hand to photograph a flower, I became distracted by another unusual bloom. It captured me with its elongated balloon-like shape, which shoots from its stem. From there it bursts open into a circular fan of the most delicate of petals. Distracted, I was, but happy just the same.

Queen Anne’s Lace

It’s the most delicate of flowers, yet stands ever so strong as the cars whip by it, paying it no attention. As I drive by, I look in my rearview mirror and from the whoosh of the car, I see them waving at me. They are not saying “so long,” but wishing me well along my journey. I wave back and smile.

Learning to appreciate something for its beauty and intrinsic value is another lesson I’ve learned from flowers.

Share with me below: What is your definition of a weed?

FEATURED FLOWER
Queen Anne’s Lace. Photographed along the road in Vermont.

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