The Natural Gardener
We’re all spending a lot of time keeping ourselves busy at home at the moment, including getting round to doing all those jobs we’ve been putting off. For me, weeding's one of them! Don’t get me wrong, I love the satisfaction of a tub full of pesky weeds after a long day in the garden, and it needs to be done, of course, but it’s not particularly fun. Having said that, I know a lot of people who find it therapeutic, and I can see why. It’s a good job, then, that I don’t look on many of my weeds as untidy. There are those, admittedly, that get whipped out as soon as I see them, such as wood avens and creeping buttercup, two stubborn blighters that offer no real aesthetic merit and colonise my borders all too fast and frequently. But most others in my garden I let be, keeping an eye on them if they stray too much and pulling out those that are too keen to stifle my other plants. I let grass grow in the corners of our gravel drive, poppies pop up in gravel, self-seeded borage and verbena is allowed up in paving cracks and I love a good dandelion, too. I think it makes my plot softer around the edges, more naturalistic and a much nicer, kinder place. There are certain weeds we should, without question, relax around and let them do their thing.
Spring is a great time to observe such plants; there are lots, along with the more pernicious ones, just getting into their stride. I love pretty red deadnettles (Lamium purpureum) for their little purple flowers that bees love. Once it has flowered it’s easily pulled up. I had a lot of that last year; this year it’s herb Robert (Geranium robertianum), with lovely mini geranium blooms and red leaves. A bit trickier to pull up, but its prettiness makes it worth it. Forgetme-nots get everywhere, but I love them in sky blue to contrast with spring daffs. Perhaps the most charming is yellow corydalis (Corydalis lutea), which is very delicate-looking with ferny leaves and tiny custard-yellow flower trumpets. It’s spreading under my hedge in the shade and I only hope it advances even further.