How to avoid weeding

THERE ARE BETTER THINGS TO DO IN THE GARDEN THAN ENDLESSLY DIG UP WEEDS… USE THEM, EAT THEM, OR LEAVE THEM BE, SAYS SOPHIE SELLARS

From the creeping menace of bindweed to the barbed villainy of brambles, weeds have long been regarded as the gardener’s nemesis. Invading lawns and wreaking havoc in borders, they can be an endless source of strife and exasperation, not to mention backache. But are weeds really an enemy, to be fought with hoes and herbicides, or are they just misunderstood? Would you be better off simply admiring them from your hammock? Thanks to new planting trends, it appears that the one-time scourge of gardeners is having a rebrand. And about time, too.

Weeds are often a vital food source for our struggling wildlife, and in recent years, as we’ve gained a greater understanding of the urgency of species decline, the vogue for insect-friendly, wildflower planting has seen a steady increase. But it reached new heights at the Chelsea Flower Show earlier this summer, where common weeds such as buttercup and clover were on defiant display in the show gardens. Designer, Mark Gregory even took home a gold medal for his ‘ Welcome to Yorkshire’ garden, which included the gardener’s perennial foe, stinging nettles.

At a time when environmental concerns point towards the rewilding of our landscapes to help reverse ecological damage, we are also, on a smaller scale, being encouraged to embrace the indigenous denizens of our own

gardens, and that includes weeds. Why waste precious hours waging a futile war against them when they may bring benefits? Weeding is labour-intensive and exhausting, and many weed killers contain chemicals, such as glyphosate, which leave a far more pernicious presence than the weeds themselves.

A weed is only a wild plant that grows where it’s not wanted. If we can learn to accept them, we may be surprised at what they have to offer. For even a straggly bramble, for example, will gift us a late summer bounty of sweet blackberries.

LEARN TO LOVE THEM

If the days of manicured lawns and immaculate borders are behind us, that’s no bad thing. Traditional bedding plants, such as begonias and pansies, contain very little nectar for wildlife, and the trays bought from garden centres are often saturated with pesticides. While the colours may be pretty, there is little pleasure to be found in a lifeless flower bed. A garden should be humming, thronged with birds, bees and butterflies; many plant species that we regard as weeds are, in fact, essential to the wildlife we want to encourage.

The much-demonised dandelion may be the proverbial blot on the landscape to some people, but it is a lifeline for bees emerging in early spring, when there are few other food sources available (issue 85’s feature on bees has more on this). Beetles, moths and butterflies all feed on the flowers; blackbirds, goldfinches and sparrows feast on the seeds. Clover is another »

“If we can learn to accept weeds, we may be surprised at what they have to offer”

favourite of pollinators, and stinging nettles support over 40 insect species, including some of our most beautiful butterflies.

And it’s not just the wildlife that benefits from them. As this year’s Chelsea showed, weeds can add a note of rustic charm to a garden. A lawn is all the better for a dotting of daisies, and clusters of sky blue forget-me-nots look beautiful in spring borders, particularly when paired with pink tulips. Pollinators love these tiny but nectar-rich blooms.

EAT THEM

Weeds can also be delicious and nutritious ( provided you haven’t drenched them with herbicides beforehand), so it’s worth checking if you can make a meal of them before you relegate them to the green waste bin.

Dandelion leaves are loaded with nutrients and can be added raw to salads or steamed like spinach, while its flowers can be used to make wine. Purslane is a much-overlooked trailing plant that’s bursting with omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants. Raw, it adds peppery crunch to salads, or use it to thicken soups and stews.

Chickweed is a common annual weed that runs rampant through gardens, but also happens to be full of vitamins and minerals, and is very tasty. The flowers, leaves and stems are all edible, and can be eaten raw, or added to stir-fries and frittatas. Consumed as a tea, chickweed is thought to aid digestion, help with weight loss and relieve stress.

A favourite culinary weed has to be stinging nettles. Plentiful, versatile and more nutritionally dense than spinach, nettles are a gift in early spring when the young leaves are at their most tender. It goes without saying, you’ll need to wear gloves to harvest them, but rest assured they lose their sting once cooked. Try sautéing the leaves. Or to make a deliriously good pesto, blanch them in boiling water for a minute before bashing them with garlic, olive oil, pine nuts and parmesan.

CROWD THEM OUT

If you refuse to be wooed by the promise of dandelion wine and abundant wildlife, and simply cannot abide the thought of weeds in your garden, one option is not to give them the opportunity to grow in the first place. Weeds are opportunists that will seize gaps in lawns and spaces in borders to flourish, so pack your soil with plants. Broad-leaved crops like squash and cabbage will offer little room for weeds to sprout on the vegetable plot. In borders, pretty ground cover plants such as the silvery lamb’s ear or shade-loving hostas will crowd out weeds. A good layer of mulch will also suppress unwanted species, as well as adding nutrients to the soil and keeping beds looking tidy.

When a buttercup does, inevitably, rear its gilded head above the wood chippings, however, it’s worth thinking twice before reaching for the trowel. Biodiversity is essential to the stability of our ecosystem, and we can help it by allowing even small areas of our gardens to grow wild. Learning to live with weeds will save you time, effort and it can even help save the planet. Now, back to that hammock...

“A lawn is all the better for a dotting of daisies and sunny yellow buttercups”