What are weeds in your garden?

Viola Odorata

The most important to know is, that -objectively seen- weeds don not exist at all. Because they are all plants anyway. Actually it is a very subjective view on a certain location where certain plants are not welcome in the view of some one, for exempel a farmer, a florist or a gardenista.

All the plants you can buy in a garden center are found one day long ago somewhere in the world and brought to Europe. They were collected at first, afterwards they tried to breed them to get stronger, bigger or more colored plants in flowering and leafs. Some plants came from warm countries and never got used to the cold in northers Europe. Now they are sold as summer plants for one year or for your greenhouse 😊

The definition of weeds for me are plants who appear growing of other plants, or are killing other plants in my garden. My biggest enemies are Sevenleaf (Umbelliferae) and an invading grass called (Elytrigia). They invade by making underground roots as far as possible, special into the roots of other plants, so it is difficult to take them away. But when they take over, they will kill all your other plants. So I spent a lot of time digging them out. 

Today I'm living in Småland Sweden since 2016 and I want to create a natural garden on the countryside. A little like Piet Oudolf, a very famous dutch garden designer abroad. With a wink of course. Not totally natural and wild or formal but something in between. Something from nature and something from me. Colorful all year, easy to maintain.

It takes time and a lot of money before I realize this beautiful garden with one can visit for fun.
That's why I''m very tolerant for plants coming up spontaneously (because they grow very well on this location) and nice to see as well without being aggressive. Like wild daisies, combines, violets, forget me not, forest anemones and honeysuckle.

forget me not

How to recognize weeds in your garden?

You can learn by looking to small plants and the way they grow as often as possible while maintaining your garden by hand. You will only learn bij trial and error. It takes time of course, but it also brings a lot. Your garden, which you are growing yourself is a gift. With some time and attention it will pay you back with a lot of joy and relaxation. It shows you the natural life, the seasons of the year and how to handle real life. Today i heard a very good quote: to take care of a plant is to take care of yourself 😍