What’s the purpose of weeds anyhow?
Flourishing weeds in my raised beds and perennial gardens are starting to defeat me. Weeding is causing me to loose sleep!
How is this task ever going to get crossed off the to-do list?
After all, you can’t plant and transplant until you clear all those nasty weeds.
Planting = fun.
Weeding = hard physical labor.
If we took an informal poll, I bet most gardeners would say their most dreaded gardening chore is weeding.
Hands down. Literally…as you tug, dig and pull them out one by one. Boring and time consuming.
Why or why do weeds exist?
What would the world be like without weeds?
After reading and researching, I’ve come to the conclusion that weeds do indeed serve a vital purpose in our gardens, landscapes and ecosystems.
We need weeds! We want weeds!
After all, a weed is just an unwanted plant. A plant that is in the wrong spot.
But find the right spot for a weed and we all benefit.
1.) Weeds have both nutritional & medicinal benefits
But why?
When did the dandelion weed become the enemy of the American Dream? The white picket fence with the perfectly green, tame and immaculate, dandelion-free lawn?
Tom and I are one of the few families on our street that doesn’t pay a pesticide service to kill the dandelions.
But surely exposing your family to chemicals is worse than a few dandelions? Besides, dandelions are kind of pretty.
But chew on this shocking fact: Dandelion is better for you than spinach! It’s sold in grocery stores. I’ve seen it. How about you?
Dandelion roots and leaves have a long history of medicinal use for treating digestive issues, reviving the liver and gallbladder and much more.
The whole wild plant is edible (unless pesticide boy sprayed it) from roots to leaves, stem, and flower. So why oh why is the dandelion our sworn enemy?
In uninhabited areas, this medicinal plants will attract wild animals who will eat the dandelions and leave their droppings behind.
This poop actually feeds the topsoil over time creating nutrient rich areas that support non-pioneer plants. (non-weeds).
Moreover, the dandelion is a fantastic bee plant flowering almost year-round and supplying both pollen and nectar! Find space for it in your yard and heart if you can.
My 8-year-old loves running around the yard plucking off those vibrant yellow heads.
She’s actually doing me a favor. When the wind comes these seeds will spread out all over the lawn creating more dandelions.
You can also dig out the taproots to remove dandelions. Do so extremely carefully because every tiny piece you leave in will re-grow, escalating the problem.
If you leave those taproots alone they benefit the soil by adding organic matter. Called “sub-soilers,” the taproots pull nutrients from deep in the ground nourishing your lawn and other plants.
Decaying roots also create tunnels for worms and other beneficial soil microbes.
And those bold, yellow flowers? The flower heads provide much-wanted nectar early in the season for lady beetles and many other pollinators.
2.) Weeds attract helpful pollinators & provide shelter
But if we eliminate milkweed in our lawns and landscapes by hand pulling and pesticide use, we’ve created a huge problem for our pollinators.
Milkweed is a crucial food source for monarch caterpillars. Sadly, Monarch butterfly populations have dropped by 90% in recent years, largely to milkweed becoming more scarce!
This is why I planted so much milkweed in my backyard this year. I went crazy planting what’s technically a “weed” hoping to attract those helpful pollinators.
Bring on those wonderful butterflies, bees, and even some moths. It’s satisfying to help reduce the decline of pollinators by increasing their habitats and providing nectar plants for the adults.
This lovely plant has pale pinkish-purplish flowers that last from mid-summer through the fall.
Joe Pye weed even has that wildflower look to it and is a butterfly and bee magnet. They are absolutely drawn in by those huge blooms loaded in sweet nectar.
The flowers and the seeds have also been used in producing pink or red dye for textiles.
Joe Pye weed is hardy from USDA Zones 4-9 and can grow upwards of 3-12 feet tall, creating a beautiful and lush environment to shelter those bugs and butterflies.
The pollinator plants also attract beneficial insects to the garden, another huge advantage.
3.) Weeds prevent bare soil & erosion
So while attracting those helpful pollinators, they also provide food and habitat for wildlife.
But they are equally vital for a third purpose. Weeds tackle the problem of water and wind erosion.
Nature dislikes bare soil and won’t allow it to exist for very long in a barren state. This natural cycle of life wants that ground covered up – and as quickly as possible.
Enter the determined weed which willingly covers the soil and does so fast!
Nutrients and minerals that your “real” plants will thrive on. Weeds to the rescue covering up this soil and saving those nutrients and minerals.
Down & dirty recap:
- Without nutrients, plant life will struggle to survive.
- Without plant life to catch and hold water, moisture won’t be retained in the soil.
- Without moisture in the soil, there will be little soil life. (good microorganisms!)
- Without plants, moisture, and soil life, disturbance will eventually lead to desertification.
4.) Weeds prevent the sun beating down too harshly on the earth
Factor in a bright and sunny 80 degree day. Hot. Hot. Hot. This same sun beats down on fields and your yard and garden.
The problem?
The sun bakes the unseen community of microorganisms that live just below the surface of the earth. But microorganisms are vital to our ecosystems!
Our gardens thrive on them.
When the deep taproots of dandelions and Queen Anne’s Lace hold soil in place and retain water, soil microorganisms multiply and begin their invisible healing procedures underground.
Weeds like crabgrass are God’s pioneer plants, nutrient accumulators, dredging deep into the soil for nutrients and minerals that they store in their leaves.
Able to colonize ground that would be uninhabitable to less hardy species, their weed roots stabilize the soil to help prevent erosion.
They sacrifice their plant bodies, shielding the ground from the sun’s heated rays, converting sunlight into organic matter that later gets recycled into the soil when they die.
5.) Weeds encourage the natural process of ecological succession to occur
Eventually, you’d have a forest on your hands 30-40 years down the road.
Weeds would take over your piece of earth initiating a process called ecological succession. After mammoth weeds emerge, trees and bushes would soon follow.
Succession is the movement of a living community in nature toward a mature or “climax” ecosystem, like a mature and aged forest.
Pioneer species (weeds) show up to a site that has been disturbed due to human activity or a natural act like a forest fire, logging or even gardening.
Can you think of the biggest time in history where ecological succession occurred?
Ecological succession explains how plants and animals repopulated the earth after it was destroyed by the global flood of Noah’s day.
Succession continues in our day and time, too. So every time you mow that lawn? You are turning back the clock on ecological succession.
Perhaps in our lawns, we don’t allow ecological succession to occur.
But in the natural world, it’s a must providing food and shelter to all God’s creatures.
So an old growth forest, a mature ecosystem, is preferable over a perfectly manicured lawn.
It’s kind of like the Wild West: species are all competing for the right to colonize a disturbed area.
They put all their strength into establishing themselves as the dominant species of the domain.
By establishing roots and laying claim to an area, they are jump-starting ecological healing and succession.
What about thistles?
They sting your hands with their prickles! Even worse if you step on one barefooted. A thorn in your side.
But then a little investigation revealed some stunning facts about the benefits of thistle, milk thistle in particular. The active ingredient in milk thistle is called silymarin and can act as an antioxidant.
What can milk thistle do for you?
And then I consider that there must be plants with healing properties out there that till this day remain undiscovered by us.
No doubt many weeds are the key to astounding medicinal properties ~ if we only knew which ones and what they were good for!
So for this reason, I’m in favor of leaving what God has made alone. He knows what’s he’s doing. We shouldn’t mess with his design.
There’s a purpose and a reason for all that He has made, it’s up to us to unearth it. And I guess that even means thistles. Ugh.
3 more weeds you might want to spare…
- Chickweed – When chickweed shows up in disturbed soil such as tilled garden beds, it’s usually an indicator of low fertility.
- Nutrient accumulator chickweed to the rescue drawing in potassium and phosphorus to save your veggie beds. Chickweed is also a pollinator magnet. Besides, you can eat it with its lettuce-like greens and medicinal properties.
- Chickweed will benefit the soil if left to grow and die back on its own. Its cute little white flowers are as non-offensive as it gets, so resist the temptation to cut it back.
- Besides, cutting it back will reduce its availability to pollinators. Leave roots intact to regrow, but even if they do die, their decayed roots will enrich the soil and host beneficial soil organisms.
- Broadleaf plantain – Colonists brought broadleaf plantain to North America and she’s here to stay ever since. It often pops up in compacted soil. Big nutrient accumulator, broadleaf plantain is a magnet for calcium, sulfur, magnesium, manganese, iron, and silicon.
- You can eat it if you wish and it has medicinal properties as it aids the digestive system. Both the leaves and the seeds target the digestive system in a healing way which is ideal for people with an upset stomach caused by anti-inflammatory medications or antibiotics.
- Plantain is also high in silica, making it beneficial to people with lung problems, coughs, and colds.
- And plantain has been a go-to remedy for hikers being attacked by mosquitoes! The plant has astringent qualities, and works to draw out toxins from bee stings, bug bites, acne, slivers, glass splinters, and rashes when crushed and applied as a poultice.
- The best way to allow broadleaf plantain to benefit your soil is to leave it alone to die back. If it’s unsightly to you, you can cut off the leaves and cover the rest of the plant with mulch. This allows it to decompose naturally. Those roots left in place will benefit the soil and the microorganisms swarming within.
- White Clover – Lawns where grass clippings are tossed lack nitrogen over time~ a must for plant growth. Nitrogen and nutrient rich white clover fixes that problem by helping to transfer airborne nitrogen into the soil to be used by neighboring crops.
- Clover also accumulates phosphorous, the perfect plant pick-me-up for big green leaves and vibrant blooms.
- Last plant win? White clover attracts beneficial insects like ladybugs, minute pirate bugs, and pollinators seeking nectar. It also provides shelter for parasitoid wasps, spiders, and ground beetles.
- Lacewings prefer to lay their eggs in clover. White clover is a groundcover for a garden pathway, especially the vegetable bed where is can fertilize nearby garden soil.
My yard full of dandelions and weeds for the bees to feed on until my vegetable garden blossoms
So thoughtful and helpful to think of the bees. Dandelions are the only thing we’re able to grow this year.
yeah I am not as anal about certain weeds anymore some are good for our crops.
Love my garden – weeds and all! My place of serenty.
I hate Poison Oak. Is that a weed?
some weeds are pretty
Thank you for this perspective and info!
You have changed my mind but I still like the neat look of no weeds.
I love this! Thank you.
A good quote:
“A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except how to grow in rows”
Doug Larson
Thanks for the information and will pass on to parents
You have great information and giveaways! Thank you!
I have alway like clover in my grass. Reading this has opened my eyes up to see all weeds are not bad for the yard and garden.
Wish I could find some Milkweed here in Florida. I see so many people begging for it. Any ideas?
Indeed
I do not mind weeds but sometimes they are chocking my gardens
Silver dollar weeds the most!!!
Such lovely items for the garden!
Never thought of weeds in this way before thanks .
we have some type of weed that is round, brown, and full of thorny stickers. It sticks to EVERYTHING! I hate it. Sorry.
We call those cukaborros here
love my gardens
I’m one of the few houses in my neighborhood that embraces weeds.
I leave flowering weeds for the insects unless they are an invasive species.
I eat dandelion leaves cooked with bacon. We have wild rabbits that like to eat the plantain in our yard.
Pretty neat hose holder
I found out how to tell your soils condition with the weeds that are found there. The weeds confirm that we are low in calcium which I knew from a soil test we took last year. Great info. here.
This is such a great post. And I really think there is a greater lesson that can be found in it. Everything in this world has a purpose. We should all look to find the beauty in everything.
Thank you
Great information
Who’da thought weeds could be useful?
very informative, thanks!
Interesting post, I didn’t know dandelions were sold in grocery stores. I hate Stinging nettles, ouch!
Good way to start rethinking my weed situation!
A need for weeds?!
I always enjoyed dandelions- never saw them as weeds.
Need tips to remove weeds
Great info! didn’t know half of this.
Great info! Thanks
Very interesting, but I would rather have beautiful flowers covering my earth and keeping it cool.
We certainly have a lot of weeds in our yard but thanks for the article. A lot of this information I didn’t know.
Weeds cause a lot of problems but there must be a reason they are here!
Most of our weeds I don’t know the correct name of. But the one here that is the most outrageous is what they call hell hound weeds they come up quick deep roots and kill every thing around them. they are beautiful but just take over everything..
I hate weeding. but the garden looks nice.
Lot’s of great info. Thanks!
still not sure if I want more weeds..
Very Informative, learned a lot.
Love the information
God is good!
Weeds come up in garden, they are getting pulled. They come up outside the garden, not going to mess with them.
Thank you for this educational and interesting article! Last year was the first year we’ve seen white clover growing in our yard here in SE Texas. I was delighted, as I used to seek out 4 leaf clovers as a kid and had great memories. We’d make crowns, necklaces, bracelets & rings from the clover flowers/stems. I don’t like poison ivy though, which I am allergic to & thus consider it a weed. I wait until the plant is large enough to distinguish from Virginia creeper, a 5 leafed vining plant which I love; and, if it still has those 3 telltale leaves I pull & dispose of the poison ivy. Again, thanks for a heartwarming article. I love milkweed & more!
would have to be poison oak or ivy. any other weed is fine, but those two must go!!
Thanks for all the info.
For someone who hates all the weeds that take over my yard, thank you for this info. Helps me see the weeds in a new light.
interesting article. Looking at weeds differently now
I dont pull indiginous flowering weeds. I leave them for the bees
An interesting post; learned something new
Love all my plants. Enjoy learning new ideas
I will never have to worry about not having enough weeds. I can deal with all but one. I haven’t looked up the name, but they just showed up a couple years ago. If you try to pick them after they have started to dry up, they spit seeds everywhere. You just barely touch it and they can fly up to a foot or more. They are my most hated!!!
Queen Anne’s Lace is beautiful but sure bothers my allergies sneezing itchy watery eyes so I hate it the most
I’m always fighting a low growing crinkly leafed weed. I think it is called mallow. I LOVE my white clover and dandelions in my yard. I wish I had more and this year I wish I had bees. They are scarce. Too many farmers surrounding me treat with chemicals by plane and by tractor. They are constantly spraying something or other on the fields around me. Corn growers don’t care about bees.
have alot of dandelions.but i never knew the benefits of the other weeds ,thanks
It’s too bad it’s such a status symbol some places to have a weedless yard. People spend SO MUCH time getting all the weeds out of their yards and gardens and putting down pesticides. Some day, that will be seen as bizarre. I wish there was an organic or more natural way of getting rid of weeds that worked as well as chemical solutions.
Weeds can be bothersome but have their place in nature.
Thank you
This was a very interesting article. There are a lot of weeds out there that help out the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.
This article is just a treasure trove of great ideas and advice. First time I’ve heard of dandelion jelly. Just wondering how to store the dandelion heads if I can’t collect enough the same day(s) and need more time. Freeze them?
Thanks for the info. I’ve never been a big fan of weeds.
Thank you for this great information. I never knew how weeds could actually help anything.
Thank you
My answer anytime someone asks me what my favorite flowers are is “WILDFLOWERS”!
Interesting! I learned a lot.
Thanks for this article, love the message, and everyone especially gardeners should read this. Just recently tried dandelion tea!
What a great article! Thanks so much for teaching me so many new things!
I love the dandelions but have to constantly argue with my husband about them
There’s a reason for everything and the weeds just help expand my 4 letter vocabulary
Awesome giveaway!
Interesting!! I didn’t realize they could have health benefits!
Weeds do not bother me
There is a weed that has pale yellow flowers, ‘fingered’ leaves and woody stems that plagues my pasture every year. It is hard to kill, invasive and kills the grass my horses love. In addition, bitterweed also grows everywhere! It is a buttercup shaped flower that looks gorgeous but is invasive and horses won’t eat it. It also keeps grass from growing.
We always save a large area near the vegetable garden for dandelions and clover – love my little pollinators.
Yes. Dandelions have great health benefits!
I actually don’t mind weeds. They are usually very colorful and the birds and insects love them!
I feel like I am constantly fighting weeds.
Great information, also so glad to see the bees are coming back this year.
Great information ~ Thank You!! I remember growing up, I had a family member who would make dandelion wine & also use them in things like salads! I, personally, have never tried them…..actually forgot all about seeing it growing up; now I’m quite curious what they taste like!!
Weeds can be pretty and helpful, and dandies can be made into booze; but last year, they literally buried my garden to the point my green beans couldn’t get sun and grow. I couldn’t even find the beans to harvest them.
Love my garden
Sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference between a flower and a weed!
Great information. Thanks
Awesome information…can’t wait to use it!
I hate any week with thorns or stickers. We have a lot of those here in the desert.
Thanks for a great post! Happy weeding!
Weeds always grow faster
I have developed a new appreciation of flowering weeds especially with the bee crisis that we are facing.
I love beneficial weeds! Dandelions are my favorite!
Dandelions are very common in our neighborhood, and I’ve always tried to dig them up as quickly as possible. But now that I know the leaves are edible, I will try them in our next salad!
Weeds can be beautiful. They are mostly annoying.
I had no idea dandelions were good for the yard.
Thanks for helping me learn something new today!
Thank you and I will never look at weeds the same again! God’s beauty!
I found the tips you shared to be very useful for me. Thank for sharing. 🤞❤️🤞
Bees and butterflies are the only reason I don’t become upset when I see white clover and dandelions in the yards.
I’ve been told that Morning Glories are a weed…. Is that true??
I love dandelions and let them grow in my yard. They help the bees which are under constant attack and the weeds let me know what might be missing in my soil. I have begun to use different weeds in making salads and herbal medicines. Thanks for the information – always appreciated!
I don’t think I will ever look at my weeds the same again.
Thank you so much for all this great information.
I am embracing more weeds in my garden, and some of them are so truly beautiful, I wonder why they became known as weeds.
Weeds always grow when nothing else does!! Your pictures are stunning!!
Such an interesting article about weeds. I never knew that Weeds have both nutritional & medicinal benefits.
Great detailed info!!!
Thank you for informative article!
Thanks for the new perspective
While birds may like poison ivy berries & deer may like munching on their leaves, I developed my first allergic reaction to poison ivy in my 40s and detest these plants. As for weeds in general, if they are any of my flower/garden beds I’ll pick, pick, pick them out! I consider gardening and weeding as my favorite form of exercise! 🙂
I wish I had a green thumb. I am going to give it a try.
They are kind of like people
Thank you for informative and interesting article. Awesome giveaway
Thanks for the info
Cool website
Very interesting article. Weeds are only weeds if they are growing in what we think is the wrong place.
I will look at weeds a little bit differently from now on.
I will look at weeds also a little bit different, all flowers were once weeds-in fact flowers can be weeds if we don’t want them in that spot. This one has survived everything.
I am learning more and more on the benefits of “weeds”! God gives us all we need. Thank you for the education!
Thank you for all the useful information. I can always learn something new from your posts.
Information that is always useful.
There is always more to learn and think abt The article is full of great infor
Great information about the weeds and I just leave them in my yard .I don’t have very many weeds our yards not not too large here.
informative post
I love the pvc pipe idea!
All those plants are nice
I don’t think I will ever look at my weeds the same again.
Thank you so much for all this great information.