Most of us enjoy wildflowers, such an important part of spring and summer when we take walks in the countryside. Even when driving along motorways and major roads, we are struck by the patches, or blends, of colours that verges provide: in country lanes, wildflowers attract our attention even more. They may even become part of garden design [1], although most gardeners prefer to cultivate plants that have been bred by horticulturalists for appearance, scent, or value as food. These garden plants, and their many varieties, are, of course, descendants of wild ancestors.
Wildflower meadows have high diversity, and growing plants in monoculture provides an “invitation” to animal pests and the invasion by some unwanted plants. That is especially so in farming, although we find the appearance of poppies in wheat fields to be very attractive and something that we enjoy, as in the painting from 1890 by Van Gogh (above).
Poppies in fields of wheat remind us of a story in the Holy Bible, where invading plants are referred to as tares [2]:
“ Another parable put he forth unto them,
saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in
his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the
wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought
forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the
householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy
field? from whence then hath it tares? He said
unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then
that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay;
lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with
them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest
I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in
bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.”
The above quote uses the metaphor of good (wheat) and evil (tares) and this attitude to tares and weeds has persisted for millennia. It is, however, accepted that they were not planted by an enemy, but arrived naturally and modern farming machinery allows easy separation of wheat and poppy seeds,
We appreciate beautiful gardens and lawns, and we also like fresh fruit and vegetables that we can collect from fruit/vegetable gardens or allotments. Weeds, while not being regarded as evil in the Biblical sense, are removed wherever they appear, as we want to have a feeling of control over Nature (as we do with pruning, transplanting, and other gardening practices). According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a weed is: “Any herbaceous plant not valued for its usefulness or beauty, or regarded as a nuisance in the place where it is growing, esp. when hindering the growth of crops or other cultivated plants.”
Many weeds are well-known to gardeners, as are wild flowers to most, but should we wish to identify a plant we don’t know, we can use a flora [3] or, more usually, an illustrated guide like Roger Phillips’ Wild Flowers of Britain [4] that contain photographs of each plant, making identification much easier (an example is shown above). Phillips also gives notes on the time of flowering, habitat preferences, etc of each plant. Before photography, we were dependent on herbaria, drawings and paintings. I made my own wild flower herbarium when I was 11 years’ old [5], although that was for a school project, and I could have taken photographs if I’d had a camera. Examples of paintings by Anne Pratt (1806-1893), Harriet Isabel Adams (1863-1952) and Lilian Snelling (1879-1972) are shown below and, in addition to their helpfulness as an aid to identification, they are beautiful works of art.
It’s an art from that is alive and well, as shown in the wonderful book 50 Weeds, that has text by Edwin Oxlade and illustrations by Diana Oxlade [6] (one of which is shown below). Edwin and Diana are enthusiastic gardeners and allotment holders, and encourage us to view weeds not only as a nuisance, but also as fascinating, and sometimes beautiful, wild plants that happen to be in the “wrong place”, as the OED would have it. There are two quotes at the beginning of the book that set the tone:
Edwin: “I spend a lot of time at my
allotment trying to get rid of weeds. If I ever won the battle I would not be
happy. Weeds are some of the most beautiful plants I grow”
Diana: “I have always admired and
loved weeds. I don’t know why!”
50 Weeds is a lovely book and all gardeners should have a copy to help them celebrate weeds. Invasive plants can be a nuisance but, unlike tares, they are not symbols of evil, but plants that extend their successful strategies to both gardens and fields of crops. People who view humans as being part of nature understand this and find it something to be admired, but those with strongly anthropocentric views do not feel at all positive about weeds and their control is then paramount, with no admiration of them as plants that have evolved successful strategies to disperse, and which can be very attractive. As Wordsworth wrote in Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey: “..Nature never did betray the heart that loved her..”. A Romantic sentiment it may be, but it is a very important one.
The final word must go to Edwin Oxlade, who writes [6]:
“..However much we gardeners might hate
them at times, we would hate even more to be totally without them. When, as
sometimes happens, the things we are trying to grow are beset with sickness,
mould, drought or malnutrition, we can rely on the weeds to look healthy and
bright. It is reassuring at these times to know that we have been capable of
creating an environment where at least something can grow well and give us
pleasure.”
[1] https://www.rhs.org.uk/lawns/creating-wildflower-meadows
[2] Matthew 13:24-30 in the Holy Bible (Authorised
King James version)
[3] A.R Clapham, T.G.Tutin and E.F.Warburg (1964) Excursion
Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press
[4] Roger Phillips (1977) Wild Flowers of Britain. London,
Pan Books
[5]
[6] Edwin Oxlade and Diana Oxlade (2017) 50 Weeds. Belfast, GPS Colour Graphics
[7] https://www.cuharts.com/weeds
(showing several of Diana Oxlade’s watercolours from 50 Weeds)
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