LEARN TO LOVE THESE COMMON WEEDS

These ‘plants in the wrong place’ are loved by wildlife – but can we love them too?

WHITE DEAD-NETTLE (LAMIUM ALBUM)

The whorls of white flowers on this non-stinging nettle are brilliant for bumblebees, and wonderfully architectural on close inspection.

DANDELION (TARAXACUM OFFICINALE)

Oh, how we recoil at the offending rosettes of toothed leaves that spring up in the lawn! But rather than hoiking them out, why not enjoy the bed of golden flowers that follow? Goldfinches will feast on the seeds before they ripen, and solitary bees and ladybirds will wriggle their bellies in the pollen.

GROUND-IVY (GLECHOMA HEDERACEA)

Quite different from the familiar climbing ivy, this trailing plant can crawl out into lawns below the blades of the mower. Its heartshaped leaves have crimped edges, attractive in themselves, but when you give it a chance to flower in spring its small, lilac-hooded flowers are enjoyed by a host of pollinators.

CREEPING BUTTERCUP (RANUNCULUS REPENS)

Now here’s a weed that can seem like a complete nuisance, growing in borders. Yet hoverflies love their cup-shaped flowers and they can look beautiful, especially when the flowers shine gold in the sun.

BINDWEED (CONVOLVULUS ARVENSIS)

I realise I’ve got a tough job trying to convince you of the virtues of this thug! But bindweed has sensational flowers and the large white trumpets are loved by bees and thick-kneed beetles.

LAWN DAISIES (BELLIS PERENNIS)

Planted in a sunny lawn, delightful white and yellow daisy flowers are very attractive to bees, drawn by the rich pollen and bright colour. They also have a very long flowering season – from March to September.

➤