My philosophical ponderings while weeding....

[Anonymous]

*this is meant to be a light hearted post, not contentious.*

As I was pulling weeds the other day, I thought about how slightly mad the whole process is....plant things we want to see but pull out the ones we don't want to see. Forget that the weeds are thriving and keep coming back and my plants are so-so. So my thoughts:
- who am I to decide what plant is better than the other? I mean, yes, I own my land but really, I feel like I'm playing God by deciding one life is better than the other (and fwiw, I'm a vegan)
- if one plant (the weeds) is growing better than another, shouldn't that indicate that it belongs there and not the so-so plant? Isn't it survival of the fittest?

I had other random thoughts to but these are the ones I can think of now....anyone care to ponder with me?

[Anonymous]

After reading Michael Pollan's "Second Nature", I felt quite a bit better about pulling weeds. I also felt better after reading "1491" by Thomas Mann - where I found out most of the weeds are european interlopers and non-native.

[Anonymous]

Well if you have a garden and the weeds are taking over and not letting your food grow, I'd say that would be a good reason to pull them without a second thought.

[Anonymous]

I also get sappy while thinning seedlings. I get so excited when my seeds finally sprout, and then a few weeks later, you have to do a Sophy's Choice and yank a perfectly lovely seedling. Breaks my heart.

Then, once I see my neat garden, all thinned out, then I get overzealous and I start to enjoy playing God -- "Your leaves are pale and your stem is crooked -- off with you!"

[Anonymous]

Life is all about weeding.

[Anonymous]

My mom says "a weed is a plant you don't want" - so really any plant could be (or could not be) a weed. Taking this approach I have decided that I like the violets and dandelions in my yard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Life is all about weeding.

OP here....so true! I need to do more mental weeding and less physical...well, maybe in my closet.

[Anonymous]

When we first moved to Capitol Hill, I tenderly nurtured the plants that grew the next Spring. I know nothing about gardening, so I was excited to show mine to a good friend who has a beautiful garden.

She said, "it's lovely. You do realize those are almost all weeds, right?"

[Anonymous]

My philosophical thoughts while weeding are mostly that I would rather weed Indian strawberry than ground ivy. Also, wisteria and English ivy are evil.